This journey never ends! The University of Limpopo Women's Academic Solidarity Association experience

abstract

This reflective account by a group of seven women academics at a historically-black, patriarchal institution seeks to theorise the experiences of a women's support group, the University of Limpopo Women's Academic Solidarity Association (ULWASA), as a feminist response to the challenges we face in academia. Drawing from the life stories of five ULWASA members (using semi-structured questions in an ethnographic research design), we discuss the personal, social and institutional challenges that they have faced in the process of becoming academic researchers. We relate these stories to the literature on the marginalisation of women in academia and the challenges that prevent women from fulfilling their academic aspirations. All five ULWASA interviewees overwhelmingly attest to the value of the ULWASA initiative. We therefore discuss ULWASA's underlying principles and its ethos, and celebrate its successful initiatives, highlighting the value of more established researchers mentoring young women researchers. Our argument is that despite progressive legislation and incentives for women to participate in knowledge production and dissemination, it is the collaboration between women, guided by feminist principles of cooperation and democracy, that facilitate the emergence of women researchers and scholars. We hope that this initiative will be worthy of debate, discussion and perhaps, emulation.

Keywords:

• Women in academia
• personal narratives
• self-help groups
• democratic ethos
• writing retreats