Female academics and gender advocates across Africa have raised concerns over systemic exclusion, unequal opportunities, and structural barriers facing women within universities. They warned that higher institutions meant to promote fairness and intellectual growth are still failing to provide equal access to leadership, career advancement, and justice for women.
The concerns were raised at a post-International Women's Day reflection workshop organized by the Africa Leadership Foundation (ALF) in partnership with Oxfam in Africa. The event was held at the ALF Africa Hall in Ota, Ogun State, under the theme 'The Role of Female Academics in Promoting Inclusive Access to Justice within the University System.'
Speakers at the event noted that many women in academia continue to face discrimination in promotion, leadership appointments, research opportunities, and decision-making, despite increasing female enrolment and academic performance across universities.
Systemic Barriers Highlighted
Executive Director of ALF, Dr. Olumide Ajayi, said gender equality conversations across Africa often overlook women within the university system because institutions are wrongly perceived as spaces where fairness and justice already exist. 'We believe the university system should naturally be fair and should not discriminate, but what we later discovered is that this is not so,' he said.
Dr. Ajayi explained that the workshop was convened to hear directly from female academics and develop practical frameworks that would improve access to justice for women within universities. According to him, universities play critical roles in determining who gains access to opportunities, leadership, and influence in society, making it necessary to address inequalities within the institutions themselves.
He noted that the outcome of the workshop would be shared with universities, the African Union, and regional institutions across the continent as part of broader efforts to push reforms and strengthen gender-responsive policies within higher education.
Societal Inequalities Reflected
Interim Gender Justice Lead at Oxfam in Africa, Paul Vingi, said universities remain reflections of wider societal inequalities despite their roles in shaping future leaders and public policy. According to him, many highly qualified women still struggle to access leadership opportunities and recognition within academic spaces.
'If women cannot experience fairness, protection, and equal opportunity within universities, then we are reproducing inequality at the highest level of intellectual formation,' he said. Vingi warned that conversations around gender equality are increasingly facing resistance globally and across Africa, even as women continue to bear the heaviest burden of inequality in education, leadership, and economic participation.
'How can equality have gone too far when millions of girls are still out of school?' he asked. He added that achieving gender justice requires the involvement of men and institutions willing to challenge exclusionary systems and promote dignity, equality, and fairness.
Keynote Address on Development Agenda
Delivering the keynote address, former African Union Commissioner for Education and Vice Chairperson of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Sarah Ayang Agbor, described gender justice within universities as essential to Africa's development agenda. 'Universities are not only spaces of learning; they are microcosms of society, reflecting both its progress and its inequalities,' she said.
Agbor noted that women across African universities still face barriers including underrepresentation in leadership positions, unequal access to opportunities, and exclusion from decision-making processes. According to her, universities cannot attain true excellence when part of their intellectual capacity is constrained by structural inequality.
She urged institutions to strengthen policies on gender equality, establish independent reporting systems, increase women's representation in leadership, and build more inclusive governance structures.
Patriarchal Cultures Persist
Professor of Gender, Labour, and Workplace Relations at the University of Ibadan, Adebimpe Adenugba, said patriarchal institutional cultures continue to limit women's advancement within Nigerian universities. She disclosed that Nigeria currently has only 17 female vice chancellors across public universities and only 38 women have occupied such positions since 1960.
Adenugba said women remain underrepresented in major decision-making structures across universities, making it difficult for them to influence policies affecting their careers and welfare. 'At the University of Ibadan, we have 17 faculties and only about five female deans. When it comes to decision-making, women are still not many in the system,' she said.
She added that balancing academic work, administrative duties, and family responsibilities continues to slow the career progression of many female academics. Adenugba called for institutional reforms, gender-sensitive leadership practices, equal access to research opportunities, and stronger support systems for women within universities.
Recommendations for Change
Participants at the workshop said universities across Africa must move beyond policy statements and take practical steps towards building systems that promote inclusion, fairness, and equal opportunity for women. To wrap up the hybrid workshop, the following recommendations were made: the university must strengthen enforcement of gender equality and anti-harassment policies, establish independent and transparent grievance mechanisms, increase women's representation in leadership and governance, and institutionalize mentorship and peer support systems.
