Experiences and challenges of black women enrolled in a STEM field in a South African urban university: A qualitative study

Abstract

The under-representation of women in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) is of great concern in South Africa. Despite the efforts made by the government to improve access to education for learners from previously disadvantaged communities, South African Black women are still under-represented in STEM fields. The present study aimed to understand the experiences and challenges that limited the success of Black South African women in STEM courses. The study adopted a qualitative approach and was descriptive in nature. The purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of eight students studying towards an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at a South African public university. Data was collected using in-depth one-on-one interviews and thematic analysis was deployed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the majority of the students attended public schools with limited resources (e.g. computer access), as a result struggled to cope with the course workload and language of tuition (English). The absence of relevant mentorship programmes also contributed to the challenges the students experienced in the field. The findings underscore the need for policy that utilizes an intersectionality approach to understanding the multiple interconnected challenges that Black women students experience in STEM courses in South African universities.