Journal of Human Development and Capabilities

A Multi-Disciplinary Journal for People-Centered Development

ISSN: 1945-2829 (Print) 1945-2837 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjhd20

A Capabilities-based Gender Equality Policy for

Higher Education: Conceptual and Methodological
Considerations
Sonja Loots & Melanie Walker
To cite this article: Sonja Loots & Melanie Walker (2016) A Capabilities-based Gender Equality
Policy for Higher Education: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations, Journal of Human
Development and Capabilities, 17:2, 260-277, DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2015.1076777
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2015.1076777

Published online: 19 Aug 2015.

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Date: 17 October 2016, At: 21:47

Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2016

Vol. 17, No. 2, 260277, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2015.1076777

A Capabilities-based Gender Equality Policy

for Higher Education: Conceptual and
Methodological Considerations
SONJA LOOTS & MELANIE WALKER
Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein,
South Africa

ABSTRACT The complex transformative intent of policy goals is often marginalized in

favour of tangible, measurable outcomes. Such a pattern is evident in the tracking of
global social justice goals, such as gender equality, where sole reliance on numerical
parity data to track progress has led to the simplication of the concept for the sake of
measurement. This intensies the need to focus both on conceptual and methodological
considerations in policy development and evaluation to enhance human development
and promote the transformation of inequalities towards social justice. Through reporting
on a mixed-methods process to inform and develop a capabilities-based gender equality
policy at a South African university, the paper asks what gender equality should look
like conceptually, and identies empirically valued functionings and capabilities which
could act as transformative policy evaluation indicators. The paper reports on diverse
student data from 57 qualitative interviews and 843 survey respondents, which indicate
differences between what social groups value and where interventions are needed. The
paper suggests that the capabilities approach could be an important evidence-based
policy driver in higher education, with the possibility to combine both a rich conceptual
approach and methodological considerations in operationalization so that social justice
goals and outcomes result.
KEYWORDS : Higher education, Capabilities, Gender equality, Policy development,
Methodology, South Africa

Introduction
Dening concepts has direct implications for policy goals and their evaluative measurement. Policy goals are also the result of policy-makers normative frameworks; different
normative frameworks yield different policy goals (Walker 2010). For example, if the normative framework motivating policy goals for gender equality is solely focused on the
economic empowerment of women, it follows that measurement of progress would
target womens human capital development and their participation in the economy.
However, while advocating gender equality as a global developmental goal has

Correspondence Address: Sonja Loots, Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, University of
the Free State, PO Box 339 (internal box 6), Benito Khotseng Building, Room 209 and 111, Nelson Mandela
Avenue, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa. Email: lootss@ufs.ac.za
2015 Human Development and Capability Association

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

261

instrumental value in that the long-term growth prospects of countries are enhanced through
educationally and economically empowering women, it is also a matter of moral justice and
fairness to reduce discrimination against women, because women are more than economic
producers (Jtting et al. 2008; WEF 2013; UNDP 2014). Yet, somewhere between developing expansive policy goals and measurable evaluations of progress, the wider transformative intent of gender equality can be lost or obscured (e.g. see Journal of Human
Development and Capabilities special issue on the evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals 2014). This implies that the deeper meaning of gender equality is not adequately stipulated and/or evaluative measurement is limited through an exclusive focus
on simple quantiable indicators, while neglecting to address whether the qualitative,
every day, lived experiences of people have improved.
It is with these errors that this paper is concerned, that is how normative conceptual
policy goals impact on framing intervention strategies, and how implementation progress
is subsequently measured. Specically, our concern is with gender equality policy development in South African higher education. The absence of such a policy presents the opportunity to intervene for change, and to argue for a normative framework based on human
development and the expansion of opportunities as the foundation of gender equality.
We therefore propose that the capabilities approach (CA) could be an important evidence-based policy driver in higher education, provided that both conceptual and methodological considerations are sensitive to the deeper transformative intent of socially just goals,
and that conceptual richness is allied with a mixed-methods approach to capture both
numbers and narratives. Added to this, the eld of education is complex, and while
narrow numerical indicators of change in gender parity may be helpful, they cannot
easily capture the rich detail of lives and processes in educational settings.
The paper, therefore, rst explores how gender equality is commonly conceptualized in
(higher) education, and expands on this from a capabilities perspective. We then discuss
how a capabilities-friendly conceptualization of gender equality would impact on policy
development and evaluation. Our data collection methods are then presented, where we
identify which functionings and capabilities in relation to gender equality are valued by
those who will be subject to such a policy, in order to provide policy-makers and evaluators
with indicators worthy of the transformative intent of policy goals. Finally, we discuss the
implications of the identied capability-indicators for policy development, implementation
and evaluation.
Conceptualizing Gender Equality in Higher Education from a CA
The most common approach to measuring gender equality in education is based on numerical parity, including discrepancies in access and participation (David 2009; Unterhalter
2007; Chisamya et al. 2012). This implies that gender equality has a literal meaning of
equal representation between men and women. In this respect, there have been laudable
successes in getting women into higher education. The South African Department of
Higher Education and Trainings (DHET 2014a) Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS) reports that in 2012, 58% of all student enrolments in South
Africas 23 public universities were female, while overall participation rates in relation
to national demographic representation were 15.9% for men and 22.6% for women
(DHET 2014a). The HEMIS database also shows that the participation rate of white1
males was 48.8% in 2012, while that of white females was 60.8%. For black (African) students, the participation rate was 13.1% for men and 19.1% for women. Considering that
national representation of white females and males consist of only 4.5% and 4.3%, respectively, while black (African) women and men represent 41% and 38.5% (South African

262 S. Loots & M. Walker

Institute for Race Relations 2012), racial inequalities regarding participation in higher education still persist across gendered groups. Yet, based on these gures, women overall are
also doing better than men. As Chisamya et al. (2012) point out, parity measures success by
the uniform distribution of a standard good (higher education in this case) across groups.
When distribution is equal, parity has been reached. Thus, according to South African participation indicators, gender equality has been achieved; indeed some are urging researchers
to investigate the lowering participation of men of all races (Parker 2014). At any rate, the
effect has been for gender equality to drop off the policy radar in South Africa (Unterhalter
and North 2011). Unfortunately, while some women might have achieved parity with
(or surpassed) men in certain areas of education, such as graduation rates at public
higher education institutions, their experiences throughout the educational system can be
rife with persistent inequalities. Some South African studies have explored these inequalities through reporting on sexual harassment and violence (Bennett et al. 2007; Hames
2009); experiences of gender in science and technology elds (Lynch and Nowosenetz
2009); exploring gender issues in university management and organizational culture
(Mabokela 2010; White et al. 2010); placing gender in the South African higher education
transformation agenda (Shackleton, Riordan, and Simonis 2006); and reports on deepseated inequalities and mainstreaming experiences of students and staff (e.g. Morley
2006, 2007). These gures are, therefore, necessary to keep track of broad marginalization
regarding social groups, but they are not sufcient to explain all aspects of gender equality
in South African universities.
In order to address recurring inequalities, such as those stemming from gendered norms
and stereotypes which numbers do not adequately capture, we need a broader and more indepth denition of gender equality in education. Manion and Menashy (2013) helpfully
apply Robeyns (2006) tripartite analysis of education for human capital, for human
rights or for human capabilities to gender equality in education. We agree that human
capital is inadequate as an analytical lens for determining social justice and human developmental outcomes, even though it dominates higher education policy globally (Boni and
Walker 2013); and that human rights are signicant and well captured in the South African
constitution, but that legislation in the face of culture and society does not necessarily
secure individual rights to people. Certainly, pervasive and widespread violence against
women and children in South Africa rather suggests the reverse in the case of gender
rights (e.g. Medical Research Council 2009). We agree thus that human capabilities
offers an expansive approach to gender equality in education; it may make use of
numbers but would not interpret gender equality as a matter only of parity. Moreover,
Unterhalter (2007) shows how a capabilities-friendly approach allows for attention both
to social structures, which hold gender norms in place, as well as individual factors by
looking at interpersonal comparisons and complex conversion factors. This version of
equality, informed by the CA (Sen 1999; Nussbaum 2000), suggests that gender roles
and identities are subject to the interaction between social arrangements, individual freedoms and agency.
From a CA perspective, gender equality would include the availability of opportunities
for development for both genders, while also taking into account social and institutional
structures as conversion factors which demand equity interventions. The approach requires
a life of equality and dignity for all women and men (Walker 2013). When looking at gender
equality in this way, it includes previous attempts at measuring equality through using
parity, but does not stop there. It also includes possibilities for well-being (through enabling
valued functionings), agency expansion and mobilization (enabling people to participate in
their own development according to their own goals), and critically reecting on ones own
values and well-being (through inclusion in the development and policy process). In this

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

263

way, empowerment is also possible through enabling people, and especially girls and
women, to better shape their own lives for the better (Drydyk 2012, 32).

Capabilities-friendly Policy Development and Evaluation in Higher Education

Conceptualizing gender equality as expanded opportunities for development implies both
prospective and evaluative applications of the CA in the policy development process.
Alkire (2008) distinguishes between evaluative and prospective applications of the CA,
where an evaluative analysis focuses on which capabilities are expanded, for whom and
to what extent. Whereas with prospective analysis, the focus moves towards how and
why capabilities are expanded. The main objective of prospective analysis is therefore to
identify which concrete actions are likely to generate a greater stream of expanded capabilities (32). For the policy development process, this implies that the CA should rst be
implemented for evaluative purposes to identify the current state of beingwhich functionings are valued, which opportunities are available to whom, and where interventions are
needed (Figure 1). This rst phase is crucial, because it lays the conceptual foundation
of (in this case) what gender equality in higher education should look like, as well as providing opportunities for public debate. Implementation strategies are then foregrounded
through prospective analysis to determine which structural changes would expand on the
identied capabilities, as well as how negative conversion factors could be removed or
limited. The cyclical policy process then moves towards an evaluation of the implementation strategies over time to gauge the extent to which capabilities have been expanded,
whether expansion was inclusive and which blind spots arise from the evaluation.

Figure 1.

Evaluation and prospective analysis policy development cycle.

264 S. Loots & M. Walker

Evaluating policy from a human development and capabilities perspective also includes
recognition of human well-being and dignity as policy outcomes, while paying attention
to the political and power inuences shaping policies, such as whose values are being promoted and for which purposes (Alkire and Deneulin 2009; Spence and Deneulin 2009; Eiffe
2013). This process then gives way again to prospective analysis to adjust implementation
strategies. The interplay between evaluative and prospective analyses also implies interplay
between bottom-up and top-down contributions. For example, establishing policy goals and
evaluation of implementation strategies would require a greater focus on bottom-up contribution, where actual implementation, resource distribution, and structural changes would
rely more heavily on top-down contribution.
The identication of functionings (and thus related capabilities) valued by women and
men subject to such a policy, therefore, serves as the informational basis of the policy development cycle as it provides a detailed conceptualization of social justice goals from their
lived experiences. This, in turn, presents policy-makers and institutions with tangible outcomes to work towards through expanding capabilities and agency freedoms through
implementation strategies to enhance the achievement of functionings, well-being and promoting human development.
Turning specically to gender equality in higher education, we rst need to evaluate the
current state of being in terms of which functionings are valued, to what extent peoples
capabilities to achieve these functionings are expanded, and whether there are differences
between social and marginalized groups regarding what they value and whether they are
able to achieve their valued functionings. In other words, we need to obtain relevant and
credible evidence rst, which, as Fukuda-Parr, Yamin, and Greenstein (2014) argue,
should ideally be collected through quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a
more holistic representation of reality.
Methods
The South African university selected for our inquiry is a parallel-medium (Afrikaans and
English) institution with over 30 000 students, of which 62% consist of women and 65%
consist of black (African) students.
Drawing from the pragmatic research paradigm (Feilzer 2010), the data collection
methods were selected to explore gender inequalities with the intent of working towards
taking action against these inequalities in the form of a gender equality policy. In order
to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data, a sequential mixed-method design
was followed, so that one data set builds on the results of another (Creswell et al. 2011).
The qualitative part was focused on answering which functionings in relation to gender
equality are valued in order to draft a working list of capabilities. Following on this, the
quantitative survey focused on identifying which social groups place more or less value
on which capabilities to determine where interventions are needed.
Our qualitative database consists of in-depth interviews forming part of a longitudinal
project exploring female and male students experiences of gender in higher education
spaces over time. Invitations to participate in the project were sent to registered students
via email. Initially, we did not get a sufcient response, so we resorted to snowball sampling
to increase participation. The selection of potential participants recommended through
snowball sampling was monitored to keep the diversity of the sample.
The qualitative interviews focused on a broad spectrum of lived gendered experiences,
which in this context intersects with racial, cultural, and social class issues. Questions
were derived from current gendered events reported through the media, statistics related
to gendered representation in higher education and the labour market, and research

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

265

reports focusing on gendered experiences of students in similar contexts. Students were

encouraged to reect on their gendered experiences, biographically, socially, and in
higher education. Questions were also framed to include experiences within different university spaces, such as teaching and learning, on-campus student residences, sport, and
other extra-curricular spaces.
From the qualitative interviews, several valued functionings were identied (Table 1).
We organized the functionings into four incommensurable capability themes: (i) safety
and bodily integrity, (ii) dignity and respect, (iii) voice, and (iv) knowledge and education.
The capability themes then informed our quantitative questionnaire, which also included
several open-ended questions.
The questionnaire was sent out electronically to 27 709 registered undergraduate and
postgraduate students at the university. We received 843 responses, which indicate a relatively low response rate of 3%. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS, version 22,
and qualitative questionnaire responses were analysed with Nvivo 10 software. We will
rst report on the qualitative data, which provide the warrant for our capability themes, followed by the quantitative data, which expand the numbers consulted and tests whether
similar capabilities are valued by a broader number of diverse students.
Results: Qualitative Data
Of the 57 student participants who took part in the qualitative interviews, 39 were female
and 18 were male. The female group consisted of 25 undergraduate and 14 postgraduate
participants from various disciplines, while the male group consisted of 10 undergraduate
and 8 postgraduate participants. Racially, the female participants consisted of 25 black
women and 14 white women, and the males consisted of 11 black and 7 white participants.
Although not a representative sample, these gures correspond with the Universitys, as
well as national gendered and racial representation of students in higher education.
Table 1 reports on the valued functionings we extracted from the interviews, together
with data samples to support the ndings. The table also presents the four broad normative
capability themes, which the data and our analysis suggest are central for the pursuit of
gender equality in higher education.
The four capability themes overlap signicantly with other scholars work in identifying
capabilities for gender justice in educational settings. Walker (2013) explores which of
Nussbaums (2000, 2006) 10 general capabilities for a dignied life have specic relevance
to education and the empowerment of girls and women. She identies ve enabling capabilities in this respect: practical reason, which implies being autonomous and critical;
afliation, referring to citizenship, respecting others, and having a shared life; senses,
imagination, and thought, pertaining to the empathic understanding of others and exercising
sensitivity; emotions, which implies feeling safe and happy, as well as supporting reasoning
through emotions; and nally bodily integrity, which refers to being free from sexual harassment and violence.
In the South African educational context, Walker (2007, 189190) also formulated an
ideal-theoretical list for gender equality in schooling through integrating empirical, theoretical, and gender policy capabilities. The capabilities include autonomy, knowledge, social
relations, respect and recognition, aspiration, voice, bodily integrity and bodily health, and
emotional integrity and emotions. Even though there are slight variances in the specic
description of each capability, every one of Nussbaum and Walkers capabilities is captured
in our capability themes. Furthermore, other studies in higher education beyond the capabilities literature also conrm the importance of bodily integrity and safety (e.g. Wagner and
Magnusson 2005; Hames 2009; Phipps and Smith 2012; Mothibi et al. 2013); having a

Capability themes
Safety and bodily integrity

Dignity and respect

Voice

Valued functionings
To feel safe on campus (free from violent and nonviolent crimes)
To be able to freely express oneself verbal and nonverbal (e.g. through clothing)

Data examples

If you hear cases of people being robbed and people being raped and that,
you most certainly dont feel safe. (Sophia, black female, BSc, UG)
I feel that we should be in a society where you can wear anything you want
and be comfortable. Because its your body. Its modern times. You should
be able to wear your short mini skirt if you feel like it. (Thato, black female,
Law, UG)
To be free from sexual harassment and other forms of
When youre supposed to pass a group of guys, youre asking yourself, what
gender-based violence
are they going to say this time? Is this jean too tight? Is my cleavage
showing? So sometimes you become so self-conscious. And then, when its
winter, youre so free, youre so comfortable, youre wearing your long
coats and everything. (Thumi, black female, BCom, UG)
To be free from discriminatory behaviours and attitudes Im afraid of saying something wrong in English because its not my mothers
(including gender, race, ethnicity, disability or
tongue and Ill say something stupid and people will start laughing at me.
nancial status)
(Lifutso, black female, BSocSc, UG)
To be treated with human dignity
We are judged as women. Were seen as inferior. Weaker. But actually, were
not. (Mary, white female, Accounting, PG)
To uphold certain socio-cultural gendered norms and
Im Venda and in Venda, what we do is when you bring a meal, you kneel in
change others
front of your male counterpart or your father or your grandfather. And as
much as thats part of my heritage and my cultureand I still do practice it
for the love of my cultureculture is very uid and as time moves on,
people feel the need to change culture. But in the black communities, we
still practice culture relentlessly. (Jenny, black female, BSc, UG)
Id be disappointed in myself if my wife has more money than me. Thats
just how I feel. (Xander, black male, Taxation, PG)
To participate in class without being discriminated
My opinion, I dont know if it was because of my race or because of my
against
gender, was undervalued a lot of the time. (Jessica, white female, Political
Science, UG)

266 S. Loots & M. Walker

Table 1. Qualitative ndings

267

(Continued )

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

Knowledge and education

(value of higher
education)

For women to be represented through the curriculum and This one lecture, I think no female spoke the entire lecture. Probably because
pedagogical practices
it was about sports. We were talking about sport contracts and it was all
about soccer. I think in that class they could have been more
accommodating to the females. Because, I mean, as much as we love Law
and contracts, we are not going to talk about soccer. (Thato, black female,
Law, UG)
To have identiable gendered and racial role-models to If you move higher up, will you nd that the females are found in the
look up to in university
elementary phases of our education and later on its just white males. It has
a big impact on the way that we see ourselves, on the way that we view
society and on the way that we learn as well. (Jenny, black female, BSc,
UG)
To have more platforms for discussions on social issues Girls dont want to mingle with guys because they feel so inferior and the guys
in university
feel superior. I think the mingling can help. And talking about these things
with each other can also help. Because it starts with us as human beings.
(Lerato, black female, Geology, PG)
To be independent (nancially)
Finding academic success or nding success in the working environment
would mean to be liberated. Would mean to be free of your male
counterpart or having to have a spouse to actually provide for you. (Jenny,
black female, BSc, UG)
To be independent (maturing and looking after oneself) Ive come to realise that things dont just happen, you have to make them
happen. And I think Ive also realised how small you actually are in a big
world. Because coming out of high school you think youre this hot shot.
(Chris, white male, Law, UG)
To have a broader knowledge base
Knowledge is very important. Sometimes youre in a taxi and youre arguing
with this lady. At rst I used to say, Jo, South Africa has this unemployment
problem. We are so poor. But know I can safely say, You know, Mama, yes,
we do have an unemployment problem, but this is how it is. Let me break it
down for you. (Thumi, black female, BCom, UG)
To contribute to society
It has helped me to be more socially conscious and to appreciate the work
that I do because it goes on to help somebody somehow. So knowing that
you put more effort in whatever work that you do, there is always
somebody benetting from what you are doing. And it has lessened my
desire for money. (Phil, black male, Philosophy, PG)

Capability themes

Valued functionings
To be exposed to diversity and learn from others

To engage critically with the world

To reect on the self in relation to the world

To build condence

To develop personal and professional skills

Data examples
I was shocked that Afrikaans and English students are separated and I saw
the big barrier that it creates in the students and it kind of bothered me. I
was fortunate enough to socialise with the Afrikaans students and I
realised that these students are actually quite cool and they think the same
of us and they actually want to get know more about us but the structures of
campus dont allow for us to get to know more about each other.
(Nthabiseng, black female, Law, UG)
Our lecturers ask us to be critical of the information that we get, just because
a theorist said it was this way, doesnt necessarily mean it is this way. We
learn about past examples and how they are being applied now, how they
are being interpreted by new theorists. So in that way we are being taught
to think critically and I do think critically about the way that things are and
can be changed or not changed. (Thutu, black female, Architecture, UG)
I came here to look for a career, and ended up nding that if you do the right
course, you end up actually developing as a person and nding yourself.
(TK, black male, Law, UG)
We dont think for ourselves anymore, there is only one lecturer that Ive had
in my three years here that makes me think for myself. If youre a critical
thinker you are more condent, youre more assertive. (Didi, black female,
BCom, UG)
What I learn here is what Im going to have to do there outside. And if its not
done properly here, I wont be good outside. So the skills wouldnt be right.
(Mary, white female, Accounting, PG)

268 S. Loots & M. Walker

Table 1. Continued.

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

269

voice, being able to participate and being represented through curriculum and pedagogical
practices (e.g. Brnnlund 2014; Molla and Cuthbert 2014); being treated equally with
dignity and respect (e.g. Kwesiga and Ssendiwala 2006; Pritchard 2010) and recognizing
the intrinsic and extrinsic values of higher education (e.g. Oketch et al. 2013).

Results: Quantitative Data

Based on the functionings and capability themes identied through the in-depth interviews,
we compiled a questionnaire to explore which social groups place more or less value on
which capabilities. We wanted also to know whether the same capability themes were
valued by a broader group of students and whether there were differences with regard to
which functionings are more or less valued by different social groups. The latter serves
as an indicator of where interventions are needed in the form of capability expansion.
Table 2 presents a demographic account of the survey respondents.
Table 2. Demographics of the questionnaire respondents
Age
1821
2225
26+
Gender
Female
Male
Home language
Afrikaans
English
Sesotho
Other (Setswana, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Northern Sotho, Tshivenda,
Korean, Siswati, Sepedi, Oshiwambo, Mankon, Tsonga, Ndebele,
German, Sign Language, Otjiherero, Shona)
Racial group identity
African
Asian
Coloured
Indian
White
None
Nationality
South African
Other (Lesotho, Zimbabwean, Namibian, Nigerian, Motswana,
South Korean, Pakistani, Cameroonian, Congolese, British,
American, Kenyan, Malawian, Ganaian, Italian, German,
Taiwanese, Irish, Scottish)
Undergraduate (UG) or Postgraduate (PG)
UG
PG
Faculty
Humanities
Education
Economic and management sciences
Health sciences
Law
Theology
Natural and agricultural sciences

% of sample (n = 840)
39
27
34
% of sample (n = 833)
58
42
% of sample (n = 832)
33
24
18
25
% of sample (n = 838)
47
1
4
3
41
4
% of sample (n = 841)
90
10

% of sample (n = 842)
64
36
% of sample (n = 829)
23
11
24
7
9
2
24

270 S. Loots & M. Walker

Table 3. Independent T-tests between gender groups and capability items
t
Safety and bodily integrity
On campus I experience men or women making sexist comments
3.376
or whistling as I walk by
Dignity and respect
On campus, I sometimes feel disrespected by members of the
5.810
opposite sex
Compared to the social roles expected of women and men in my
1.962
culture, I am treated with more respect as a woman/man at
university
Value of higher education
Independence (learning to take care of yourself, doing own
2.473
laundry, discipline with studies)

df

da

610.421

.001*

.26

668.070

.000*

.44

810

.050** .15

648.196

.014** .18

Cohens d (Cohen 1988) indicates the meaningfulness of the signicance and is interpreted as a small
effect size (<.20), a medium effect size (.2050) and a large effect size (>.50).
*p < .01.
**p < .05.

Gender
To determine whether there are differences between gender groups regarding the items
within capability themes, independent t-tests were conducted. The items revealing signicant differences between the gendered groups are reported in Table 3.
Under safety and bodily integrity, only one item revealed a signicant difference between
the genders, with women (M = 1.34; SD = .026) experiencing sexist comments more than
men (M = 1.21; SD = .029), and indicating a medium practical signicance (d = .26).
This, however, does not mean that all women experience this behaviour; it only indicates
a signicant difference between men and women. Of the women, 16% reported that they
experience this, while 7% of men reportedly experience this behaviour. The majority of
both men and women either do not experience this at all, or do not attend campus often
enough to experience this. Contextually, the undergraduate respondents (t = 2.309; df =
359.647; p = .022), who are on campus more often, as well as students who live on
campus (t = 3.794; df = 319.505; p = .000), signicantly experience this type of behaviour
more.
Two items under the capability theme of dignity and respect revealed signicant differences. Women indicate stronger feelings that they are sometimes disrespected by members
of the opposite sex (women: M = 1.83; SD = .373; men: M = 1.96; SD = 197). Women also
feel slightly more than men that they receive more respect at university than in their
traditional cultural roles (women: M = 2.10; SD = .593; men: M = 2.01; SD = .619).
The only signicant difference under the value of higher education theme is that men
feel they have learnt greater independence in terms of taking care of themselves (M =
1.37; SD = .601; women: M = 1.27; SD = .520).

Race
Because of South Africas racial segregation history and current attempts to rectify past disadvantages, it is important to also consider racial differences and how they intersect with
gendered differences. Table 4 reports on these racial differences. Only a very small
number of participants indicated that they identify with Indian, Asian, and coloured

Table 4. Independent T-tests between racial groups and capability items

Ma
Safety and bodily integrity
In general, I feel safer from non-contact crimes, such as theft, on campus than off campus

Dignity and respect

Compared to the social roles expected of women and men in my culture, I am treated with more respect
as a woman/man at university
Voice
I would like to participate in open student discussions on societal issues, current events and interdisciplinary
viewpoints
I actively participate in class and I am not afraid to let my voice be heard
Value of higher education
Independence (learning to take care of yourself, doing own laundry, discipline with studies)
I realized my own signicance in the world (that I can make a contribution to society)
I had the opportunity to learn from and engage with people who are different from myself in classrooms
I had the opportunity to learn from and engage with people who are different from myself in extra-curricular
activities and spaces
Higher education has challenged my values and beliefs about people different from me
Being in higher education has made me reect on how I have been raised and the person I would like to be
in society one day
I know where I am headed in the next 510 years
Through higher education I have realized that I should contribute to the development of society in general

df

.352 4.014 431.366 .000* .35

.450
.329 1.972 465.023 .049** .17
.387

B = 2.13 .643
W = 1.98 .358

3.456 781.333 .001*

.25

B = 1.65
W = 2.33
B = 1.62
W = 1.44

.721 -12.793 794

.000*
.741
.695
3.814 764.924 .000*
.624

.93

B = 1.24
W = 1.39
B = 1.28
W = 1.47
B = 1.29
W = 1.40
B = 1.48
W = 1.60
B = 1.51
W = 1.68
B = 1.28
W = 1.57
B = 1.32
W = 1.54
B = 1.31
W = 1.54

.480
.616
.477
.566
.476
.564
.610
.654
.572
.643
.495
.640
.475
.560
.487
.582

.27

3.721 594.751 .000*

.27

5.188 657.723 .000*

.36

2.967 649.928 .003*

.21

2.482 737

.013** .19

3.913 780

.000*

.28

6.828 627.212 .000*

.51

5.922 673.955 .000*

.42

5.707 646.361 .000*

.43

271

a
Mean and standard deviation scores for the black group (B) and the white group (W ).
*p < .01.
**p < .05.

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

The campus provides an environment for me to freely express who I am and want to be

B = 1.14
W = 1.28
B = 1.12
W = 1.18

SD

272

S. Loots & M. Walker

racial groups; thus the analysis was adjusted to only represent two groups, namely white
and black groups, the latter of which include African, Indian, Asian, and coloured groups.
Several items revealed signicant differences between black and white students. Under
the safety and bodily integrity theme, black students felt safer from non-contact crimes
(such as theft) on campus than off-campus. They also felt more strongly than white students
that the campus provides a safe space for personal expression. Regarding dignity and
respect, the only item revealing a signicant difference is the black students stronger
feeling that they are respected more at university than as young people in their own cultures.
Under the capability theme of voice, the white students differed signicantly, and with a
large effect size (d = .93), in their lack of interest in participating in student discussions
on general social issues. An open-ended follow-up question reveals that racial sensitivity
and the fact that while this is a formerly white, Afrikaans campus, its student body is
now predominantly black and this might play a role in the white students reluctance to
take part in student discussions and feeling less able to freely express themselves. For
example, as a white male student said: Despite many advances made in the past, racial sensitivity still prevents honest debate in many aspects.
All statistically signicant differences in the value of higher education themes report that
black students place more value on the items listed in Table 4. These results might also
reect class and privilege differences, as 95% of white respondents attended school in
either previously white or well-established private schools (both proxies for high to outstanding quality in the South African context), while only 50% of the black students had
attended such schools and 44% of black students had attended schools in townships,
where for the most part the quality of schools ranges from low to completely dysfunctional
(see Veriava 2012). Moreover, a question on whether any member of the participants
extended family has obtained a higher education qualication also indicated a statistically
signicant difference between the racial groups (t = 6.346; df = 758.582; p = .000), with
24% of the black students being rst generation university students, compared to 9% of
the white students.
Discussion
Conducting a mixed-methods exploration with regard to gender equality provided us with a
more holistic picture of what is valued, and by whom. The capability themes of safety and
bodily integrity, dignity and respect, and voice are directly related to enduring inequalities
women have been subjected to, such as sexual harassment, being treated as second-class
citizens, and exclusion from political and other participation (Nussbaum 2000). Even
though the same capability themes apply to men, the long-standing gendered privilege
men have had changes in the interpretation of the capability themes. For example, our ndings show that women are the primary targets of sexual comments and men are the primary
perpetrators of such actions. Policy goals and interventions targeted at eliminating sexual
harassment in this form would then need to focus on both male and female roles in this behaviour. This would include clear conceptualizations of human dignity and rights, as well as
interventions challenging gendered stereotypes and attitudes. Furthermore, sexual harassment primarily targeted at undergraduate female students living in campus residences indicates that spaces beyond classrooms may be reproducing sexist attitudes, and that the
University in turn is not working, or not working hard enough, to interrupt these.
Our data also show that voice and participation take on a different meaning between the
genders. The women in our study generally feel underrepresented through curricula and
pedagogical practices. They would also like to see more racial and gendered representation
of women as lecturers. For example, the DHET (2014b) reports that female academic staff

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

273

represents 45% of all South African university appointments and black (African) staff comprises 46%. Even though these gures show only a slight variation in gender parity, the
majority of these women still occupy lower levels of academic appointments, as less
than 20% of female academics are full professors and only around 30% are associate professors (Riordan and Louw-Potgieter 2011). For the males in our study, voice and participation took on a different role, where they particularly commented on the value of
interactions and their learning with lecturers within and beyond classrooms (Loots and
Walker 2015). This does not imply that women do not value interactions with lecturers,
but it does show that the men in our study did not have to deal with issues of underrepresentation through the curriculum or feeling undervalued in class.
With regard to race, it is clear from our ndings that there are unresolved feelings among
the white students, with particular reference to their disinterest in discussions on social
issues and feeling that they cannot freely express themselves. The complex aftermath of
South Africas history of racial segregation intersects directly with gendered relations in
that equity attempts, such as afrmative action interventions, aim to shift power from
men to women and from white people to black people, but it also has the potential to
create resentment in groups considered to be privileged (Chant 2000). As Dlanga (2012)
points out, a young white man, who is too young to remember apartheid, may not understand why he has to be at the back of the queue when he seeks employment.
A sharp contradiction was found between the freedoms women and men value and the
different socio-cultural norms they value, as seen through Xander (black male) and
Jennys (black female) earlier comments noted in Table 1. Gendered norms stem from a
societys ideal values of what it means to be a woman or a man (World Bank 2013, 24)
and are not easily captured through numbers. Together with cultural practices, these
norms determine values and shape choices (Kabeer 1999, 457). Failure to conform to
socio-cultural norms and practices could result in social rejection or penalization, since
greater respect is awarded to those who conform to communal rules (Kabeer 1999;
World Bank 2013). From a human development and capabilities perspective, it would
seem essential, therefore, for universities to challenge potentially harmful norms and practices (e.g. Boni and Walker 2013). In this respect, higher education processes should
develop the capacity that Nussbaum (2006, 388) refers to as the examined life:
a life that accepts no belief as authoritative simply because it has been handed down by
tradition or become familiar through habit, a life that questions all beliefs, statements,
and arguments, and accepts only those that survive reasons demand for consistency
and for justication.
To challenge potentially harmful norms, policy goals and interventions should therefore
focus on expanding capabilities for critical thinking, including self-reection, practical
reasoning and access to knowledge to increase students ability to make informed
choices about their values (Vaughan and Walker 2012).
The capability theme of knowledge and education relates directly to this in that it highlights the intrinsic and extrinsic values students place on higher education. Women, in particular, benet from higher education through achieving economic independence, taking
part in decision-making, and having increased control over their lives (e.g. Deprez and
Butler 2007). Our data reveal a similar pattern in that women, particularly black women,
place more value on higher education contributing to their independence from male
counterparts. Furthermore, black students signicantly reported a greater value attached
to all the functionings identied under knowledge and education. Again, differences
between racial groups shed light on the long-standing effects of racial segregation and

274 S. Loots & M. Walker

discrimination, even though South Africa has been a democratic country for 20 years. In
general, the black students in our study received poorer quality schooling, have more nancial difculties, and struggle more to relate to predominantly white lecturers. Nonetheless,
higher education holds out the very signicant promise of breaking the cycle of disadvantage, borne out by the fact that unemployment among university degree holders is relatively
low at just over 5%, compared to general unemployment gures of 26%, of which 70.5%
are between the ages of 1534 (Dimant 2014). This, we think, increases the value black
students place on learning, for having a degree will greatly improve their life chances
and economic opportunities. Questions regarding attempts to rectify past racial injustices
indicated that some white students feel marginalized because of afrmative action and
equity policies, which could also inuence the lesser value they place on higher education
than the black students in that they feel academic merit is overshadowed by racial and gendered equity appointments.
From our qualitative and quantitative data, we have extrapolated functionings that
women and men have reason to value and looked at how these are valued across gender,
race, and social class lines. It is clear that there are signicant problems with gendered
norms and practices in higher education, even as it opens up greater opportunities for
young women. These gendered disadvantages are not captured in the parity of numbers.
Thus, the current absence of policy for gender equality in South African higher education
leans towards leaving gendered injustices in place, rather than challenging them. As Nussbaum (2011) has argued, education plays a signicant role in either creating justice or
recreating injustices, particularly for women. It is also clear that a policy aimed at gender
equality cannot ignore intersecting inuences and injustices regarding race, class, current
cultural, and social inuences (which form and sustain adaptive preferences), as well as historic disadvantages, which still impact on students experiences. To address intersecting
injustices and inform a gender equality policy which focuses on expanding opportunities,
the policy we have in mind ought, therefore, to frame its goals to facilitate the expansion of
the four multi-dimensional capabilities that are essential for the promotion of gender equality in this context.
Conclusion
Through adopting iterative cycles of prospective and evaluative analyses, the CA has great
potential in policy development and evaluation. The multidimensional nature of the
approach allows an exploration of the lived experiences of those who are subject to
policy goals and what they consider valuable regarding conceptual goals. Consideration
of these lived experiences provides us with meaningful indicators which are sensitive to
the deeper transformative intent of socially just goals and extends evaluation beyond gendered parity.
In our research, we delineated the policy goal of gender equality conceptually and normatively from a capabilities perspective, and explored which gender-related functionings
are valued empirically and by which students. The overlap with other work on gender capabilities and education suggests the robustness of our ndings, while at the same time our
research adds an original lens on higher education specically. It also develops a mixedmethods and intersectional approach, whereas previous research on gender and education
capabilities is only qualitative and focuses only on gender. However, it cannot be
assumed that all students at South African higher education institutions place value on
the same functionings. Our ndings are therefore limited to one university; however,
they could act as a starting point for broader public debate regarding gender equality in
higher education.

A capabilities-based gender equality policy for higher education

275

We hope, therefore, through this work to inspire similar studies exploring gender equality
policies from a capabilities perspective in order to actively pursue social justice goals
through creating human development indicators beyond gendered representation and
participation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conict of interest was reported by the authors
Funding
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation under the South African Research Chairs Initiative
(SARChI).

Note
1. Under the apartheid regime, South African racial groups were divided into Asian/Indian, black (African),
coloured and white. Currently, social redress interventions still differentiate between white and black, the
latter of which includes all non-white racial groups marginalized through apartheid. For this reason, we have
had to retain the use of these problematic racial descriptions.

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About the Authors

Sonja Loots is a researcher at the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CRHED) at the University of the Free State, South Africa. Her main research interests include pursuing human development and social justice outcomes within and through
higher education, of which her current focus is on CRHEDs longitudinal research project
on Gender, Empowerment and Agency in Higher Education.
Melanie Walker is Senior Research Professor and NRF Research Chair in Higher Education and Human Development at the University of the Free State, South Africa where
she directs the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development (CHRED).
She is the current vice-president of the Human Development and Capability Association.
Her recent books include (with Alejandra Boni) Human Development and Capabilities:
Reimagining the University of the Twenty-First Century, Routledge, 2013, and with
Monica McLean, Professional Education, Capabilities and the Public Good: The Role of
Universities in Promoting Human Development, Routledge, 2013.