On 29 August 2024, HERS-SA (Higher Education Resource Services South Africa) will host the Higher Education Women Leaders Awards (HEWLA) at the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
These awards will be the culmination and high-water mark of HERS-SA’s advocacy and lobbying endeavours to empower and celebrate women whose leadership and contribution have had a positive impact in the Higher Education sector. Even more noteworthy, HERS-SA does not only recognise and celebrate academics but embraces women across all leadership roles in higher education.
Founded in 2003, the self-sustaining non-profit organisation held the inaugural awards ceremony on its 20th anniversary in 2023 and seeks to replicate and even possibly surpass the success of the initial awards ceremony. For the 2024 HEWL Awards, 15 out of South Africa’s 26 universities have been fielded as finalists.
The number of nominees from each participating institution is also listed, these are:
- Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) – 3
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) – 4
- North West University (NWU) – 5
- Rhodes University (RU) – 3
- Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) – 1
- University of South Africa (UNISA) – 1
- University of Cape Town (UCT) – 1
- University of Fort Hare (UFH) – 1
- University of the Free State/Central University (UFS) – 2
- University of Johannesburg (UJ) – 7
- University of Limpopo (UL) – 1
- University of Pretoria (UP) – 2
- University of the Western Cape (UWC) – 2
- University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) – 2
- Vaal University of Technology (VUT) – 1
There are eight (8) categories with five (5) finalists per category, except for Women in Humanities and Social Sciences with four (4) finalists and Lifetime Achievement Award with two (2) finalists. The categories are as follows:
- Women in Humanities and Social Sciences
- Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
- Emerging Young Women Leaders (Academic)
- Emerging Young Leaders (Support)
- Women in Support Services (WISS)
- Trailblazer
- Women in Academic Administration
- Lifetime Achiever
Brightness Mangolothi, Director at HERS-SA said: “As HERS-SA, our raison d’etre is advocacy and lobbying for gender equity and we are committed to the advancement of women leaders across the entire spectrum of the Higher Education sector. HERS-SA’s vision and mission are informed and buttressed by the National Development Plan 2030, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
“Although each of these ambitious developmental agendas individually set out and articulate comprehensive global, continental and national goals respectively, we feel that they jointly identify the Higher Education sector and the role of women as critical in developing skilled labour, transforming societies, uplifting communities, accelerating economic development and the elimination of numerous social ills that plague communities.”
The organisation advocates for women leadership in Higher Education through:
- Inspiring and attracting new leadership talent to the Higher Education academic and professional employee sector, thus creating role models, advancing gender transformation and creating a platform for visibility and recognition for Higher Education women leaders in South Africa.
- Establishing a core of empowered women in Higher Education to advance the gender equity agenda in South African tertiary education institutions.
- To support, mentor and increase the pipeline of women leaders within the corridors of Higher Education in South Africa.
The 2024 HERS-SA Higher Education Women Leaders Awards ceremony will be preceded by the five-day HERS-SA Academy/Conference, a professional and leadership development programme for women in Higher Education. The academy offers a unique opportunity for women to shape their learning according to the contours of their specific development needs and circumstances by selecting from a range of plenary sessions, workshops and breakaway activities coordinated and facilitated by respected women leaders in Higher Education.
Furthermore, they are inspired by talks from well-known women leaders drawn from inside and outside academia who, through their achievements, serve as role models. To date, more than 1680 women have benefited from this prestigious and highly sought-after leadership development programme over the past 21 years of HERS-SA’s existence.