Gender Equity Unit

The leading Gender Equity Unit recognized for its feminist intellectual activism and equity for all.

The official and only page of the Gender Equity Unit. History of the Gender Equity Unit Women and gender concerns at UWC were addressed within a very specific context. In the mid-1980s and up to the early 1990's the country was still embroiled in the liberation struggle and women and gender issues were not of any concern to activists or intellectuals. However, a small group of feminists a

nd men supporting feminism at the UWC were deeply concerned about the structural inequities that existed between women and men on campus. These inequities included disparities in salaries between women and men; men generally earned more than women; women did not receive housing subsidies; there was no maternity leave for women; there were no promotion opportunities for women; women could not go on sabbaticals and all the professors were male with white men in the most senior professorships. Feminists were concerned about the lack of substantive equity. Issues with regard to bodily integrity, reproductive health and safety and security were of the first items on the transformative agenda for women on campus. As one woman lecturer commented: 'I practically gave birth in the classroom.' During the mid-eighties the then Rector, Jakes Gerwel, was approached by women staff to address their equity concerns. Subsequently a Women's Commission was formed in the late eighties that drew up a list of discriminatory practices, proposals to address them and submitted it to the Rector, Senate and Council. The list included issues around maternity benefits, housing subsidy, childcare facilities, a sexual harassment policy and the safety for women on campus. Systematically public presentations were made and gains were achieved. The university management was compelled to become more supportive and gender-sensitive in their dealings with women. Women's concerns became part of the broad political social transformative discourse at the university. In 1993, the Gender Equity Unit was formally established and the first Gender Equity Coordinator, Rhoda Kadalie, was appointed. The Unit was established with seed funding from the Ford Foundation. It was realized that the broader national liberation movement under the auspices of the Mass Democratic Movement did not include the liberation of women. The denial of women's liberation was acutely felt on campus as many of these activist organizations were based at UWC during the height of apartheid. Many of the women on campus were also involved in UWCO (United Women's Congress); the ANC Women's League and the United Democratic Front (UDF). There was therefore keen political awareness of the marginalization of women's concerns. The university is well known as a site of struggle against the apartheid regime. Women students on campus were also particularly aware of the oppression of women. Collette Solomons, an anthropology honours student, submitted a mini thesis: 'Sexism at the University of the Western Cape: with reference to progressive student organizations'. This thesis evoked strong debates because it focused on issues of rape and harassment amongst the student population on campus and it challenged the notion of justice and respect for women students. Women students demanded that gender justice be included in the quest for democracy in the students' struggle for freedom. The pressure for the university to become inclusive of women's rights as human rights came from both the students and staff. The Gender Equity Unit staff started to hold countless public debates, forced the student disciplinary committees to change, conducted awareness raising workshops, educated and trained student leadership and hosted extensive conscientising programmes in the residences to transform the gender hostile climate on campus. By the mid-nineties UWC had the best maternity benefits in the country ' 5 months fully paid leave and 7 days paternity leave for men; housing subsidies for married women; chief invigilation duties for women; and an educare centre for children of staff. The unit also developed a Sexual Harassment Policy; a Gender Policy and a Non-Sexist Language Policy. Resource booklets on sexual harassment were developed and distributed. Ad hominem promotion was granted to women academics and they for the first time had equitable access to study leave and research funding. A Women's and Gender Studies Programme was also established. Women students formed a volunteer group, called Kopanang and began to raise gender awareness amongst students. UWC became the centre for women and gender awareness raising in the country well in advance of the post-apartheid liberal language framework and rhetoric.

12/04/2026

📢Gender Equity Unit Programme Schedule 📢

Sessions are bi-weekly starting this week.

Tuesdays, 12:00-13:00: HumaNature
Tuesdays, 13:00 - 14:00: GBVF Peer Education Programme
Wednesdays, 12:00 - 13:00: Isandla Sethu
Wednesdays, 13:00 - 14:00: Mentoring Programme
Thursdays, 12:00 - 13:00: Imbewu
Thursdays, 13:00 - 14:00: Edu-Drama
Fridays, 13:00-14:30: Loud Enuf

29/03/2026

🌈Living Trans: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Courage 🌈

This dialogue will offer a reflection on how trans and gender-diverse people navigate institutions, systems, and everyday life while also reshaping them. Each panelist contributes to a layered and intersectional understanding of visibility, rights and lived experience; from knowledge production and representation and how research can both challenge and reproduce marginalisation, institutional accountability and leadership in advancing or impeding transformation and moving from symbolic inclusion to institutional cultural reform particularly for trans and gender diverse students and staff, the intersections between identity, health care access and public visibility where digital platforms offer a site for advocacy and archiving while exposing systemic barriers within the health care system especially after many critical gender affirming health care organisations having to close their doors as a result of the funding cut of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Further engagement explores policy, protocols and administrative barriers, particularly the tensions that exist between progressive policy frameworks and the lived challenges of implementation and institutional cultural reform, raising a critical question: what does it mean to truly belong?

***rDubs

20/03/2026

HUMAN RIGHTS FESTIVAL UPDATE!

Murenga comic reading will take place at the Gender Equity Unit at 13:00 to 14:30.

Please note we only have a limited amount of comic books.

18/03/2026

A Special Indigeneity Circle Session

This Thursday, the Nthirisano Community Centre) host a special
session of the Return to the Notion of Indigeneity Circle — and it
marks the beginning of something bigger.

This is our third session. As our space is small, we may dedicate this
gathering mainly to students from the University of the Western
Cape, joining through the Gender Equity Unit and the Imbewu
Program.

This session is the beginning of our Media Lab —
a space where students learn by creating: writing, filming,
documenting and helping build a new civic media platform.

This Thursday’s circle (March 19) is also a preparation session for
The Human Rights Festival.

We believe story is power, and there is no story without voice. In a world of noise, we create: honest human storytelling.

Bring 3 creative gifts:

songs • poems • reflections • texts

Every student participates.

DETAILS:
📅 Thursday, March 19, 2026
⏰ 18:00–21:00
📍 Nthirisano Community Centre, Salt River, Cape Town

Contact António: +27( 0) 81 846 7233

Do Not Eradicate the Word
A civic media platform for human dignity.

16/03/2026

Human Rights Festival - Nourish Dignity: Hunger is a Human Rights Issue

From 17–27 March 2026, join Isandla Sethu at the University of the Western Cape for our Human Rights Festival. We are mobilising through various collaborative activities, non-perishable food items and sanitary towels for students navigating hunger and limited to no access to sanitary towels, because access to food and basic reproductive health care and well-being is a matter of human rights.

So during the next couple of days, participate, donate, volunteer, and advocate in one or all of our upcoming activities!

Links will be shared in our stories!

25/02/2026

We're Hiring! 📢

Please apply through the work study platform, using this link: https://workstudy-student.uwc.ac.za/posts

24/02/2026

Gender Equity Unit Programmes

Dear Students,

The Gender Equity Unit is pleased to announce that its programmes and student volunteer initiatives are now open for registration.

To register, please complete the form titled ‘Student Volunteer Programmes Registration Form’ on our profile under Links.

For a historical overview of the Unit and guidance on selecting a programme, please visit our profile to and select the Historical overview link attached.

Please also see the attached letter from the Director of the Gender Equity Unit.

We look forward to your participation.

Kind regards,
Gender Equity Unit

20/02/2026

World Day of Social Justice 2026

Belonging is Political

Every year on 20 February, the world observes World Day of Social Justice, a global call to confront poverty, exclusion, inequality, unemployment, and discrimination, while advancing dignity, equity, and human rights for all. Social justice remains an essential foundation for peaceful and prosperous societies, and cannot be realised without respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The 2026 theme, “Empowering Inclusion: Bridging Gaps for Social Justice”, reminds us that systemic inequality persists when individuals and communities are excluded from meaningful participation in education, work, governance, and social life.

At the Gender Equity Unit, we recognise that belonging is not neutral, it is political.
Who feels safe in our lecture halls, residences, workplaces, and digital spaces is shaped by power, history, and policy. Belonging is constructed through institutional cultures that either affirm or marginalise people based on gender identity, sexuality, race, disability, class, nationality, and other intersecting realities.

Through our programme offerings, our work in transformation actively seeks to:

• Challenge structural exclusion and discrimination
• Build inclusive and affirming institutional cultures
• Centre the lived realities of LGBTQIA+ persons
• Address Gender-Based Violence and Femicide
• Advance disability justice and accessibility
• Promote equity in labour and representation
• Create safer spaces for critical dialogue and social support

As we commence our academic year with both returning and new students and staff, we are reminded that creating a socially just university is not only about access, it is about participation, recognition, and dignity.

Because social justice begins where belonging is made possible.
No one belongs ‘by default’. Belonging must be built, intentionally, collectively, and politically.

18/02/2026

CALL FOR CREATIVES 📢🌈

Calling on all creatives to participate in Q***r Dubs Pride March on campus 27 February 2026, 12:00 - 14:00.

The march will commence at 12:00 at respective starting points, with creative performance and speeches commencing at 13:00.

Direct message the number on poster for further enquiries.

***rDubs

17/02/2026

Diana Ferrus was a towering voice of conscience, compassion, and courage. A writer, storyteller, cultural activist, and teacher whose words moved across languages, borders, and generations.

Diana's work, published in Afrikaans and English, is rooted in Khoisan and enslaved ancestries, and carried by an unwavering commitment to dignity and justice.

Her landmark A Poem for Sarah Baartman, written in 1998, became a call heard across the world, widely credited with helping return the remains of Sarah Baartman from France to South Africa, restoring humanity where history had inflicted harm. This poem was poetry as action and memory as resistance.

A founder of the Afrikaans Skrywersvereniging (ASV), Bush Poets, and Women in Xchains, and the force behind her publishing company Diana Ferrus Publishers, she nurtured emerging voices and created spaces where truth could be spoken boldly. Through workshops in Cape Town and her work at the University of the Western Cape, she empowered writers to articulate protest, love, and social commentary with clarity and care.

May her words continue to teach, to heal, and to insist on justice.
May her legacy remain a living archive of courage.
And may her soul rest in peace.

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Location

Cape Town

Contact the school

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Telephone

+27219592812

Website

https://www.uwc.ac.za/campus-life/special-units-and-programmes/gender-equity-unit, https://forms.gle/p35EZGE6ZkvvPha58,

Address

Robert Sobukwe Road
Cape Town
7535

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00