Celebrating the indomitable spirit of south african female academics during the covid-19 pandemic

In March 2020, the entire world felt the impact, nature and scale of the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in distinct ways. The higher education landscape across the globe was no exception. In response to the pandemic, many governments worldwide imposed lockdowns, including South Africa. The national lockdown meant that universities had to proceed with the academic year by introducing remote emergency teaching and learning. Consequently, female academics had to navigate between various roles in their daily lives, with the added pressure of balancing teaching, research, and family responsibilities while working from home. As the pandemic rapidly sweeps across the world and daily life grinds to a halt worldwide, this article examines the impact of COVID-19 on female academics. Using autoethnography, this paper aims to reflect on how, almost overnight, female academics in South Africa had to adapt, adjust, and respond through the transition to remote teaching and learning, while accessing resources and managing their dual role – at home and as professionals. In this paper, we further reflect on our personal experiences and perspectives as female academics in South Africa against the backdrop of the inequalities in our society where women are vulnerable and often take on the increased responsibility as caregivers. Our reflections reveal that female academics need to be embraced for their imperfections as mothers and career women, despite their own sets of formidable challenges. As thought leaders, they always strive to treat their students and colleagues with kindness and respect and hope to receive mutual respect and admiration in return. Therefore, our contribution strongly advocates that institutions of higher education must take more responsibility for the progress, health, and well-being of all its staff, and more emphasis should be placed on organisational cultures that are open and supportive of the progress of female academics.