Title: THE STRUGGLE OF CONGOLESE WOMEN IN ACADEMIA: AFRICAN CONTEXT AND PERCEPTIONS
Authors:
Gumanda Kafeni Evelyne, Bamose Ndungi Marius, and Andia Moyamani Emmanuel
Abstract:
The academic sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo is dominated by men, although women have been struggling to make their way. The researchers tried to find out whether there are signs of women’s advancement in the academic world, the factors hindering their progress and their implications, and how to combat retrograde practices against women in academia.
The results have shown that the representation of women in academia has significantly increased; mainly at the University of Kinshasa where it has increased from 21.0% in 2015 to 29.9% in 2025.But beside all these there are factors hindering women advancement such as gender stereotypes, harassment, family and/or societal pressure, lack of support from other women, abuse of authority related to grades or internships, and violence that impact negatively on women’s progress.
Possible solutions to combat these factors consist of women’s empowerment, fair recruitment criteria, use of international and national legal instruments, taking our responsibilities as a university community, and encouragement of collective action.
Keywords: Women, struggle, academia, progress, violence, challenges.
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