As today marks the end of Women’s Month, DUT continues to celebrate the women whose work, leadership and personal journeys contribute to the University and the communities it serves.
One of them is Dr Rosaline Govender, Chairperson of the DUT Gender Forum and Academic Development Practitioner (ADP) in the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics.
For Dr Govender, her work is about more than fulfilling a professional role. It is about contributing to the development of people, creating opportunities and using her voice to advance meaningful change within higher education.
“I see my work as an opportunity to contribute to the development of people and to create spaces where staff and students can learn, grow and realise their potential. Whether through academic development or gender advocacy, I believe we have a responsibility to leave the spaces we occupy better than we found them,” she said.
Her work brings together academic development and gender advocacy, areas that speak strongly to three of DUT’s Living Values: Excellence, Integrity and Compassion.
Through her role in academic development, Dr Govender supports staff and students, advances learning and teaching, and contributes to innovative and transformative practices in higher education.
Her work has also taken her beyond DUT. Nationally, she serves as Deputy Chair of the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) and is the project leader of the South African University Teachers (SAUT) Continuing Learning Project. Internationally, she serves as an advisor to the International Conference on Emerging Technologies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development.
For Dr Govender, Excellence is reflected in the commitment to continually improve, learn and contribute to the growth of others.
“Excellence is not about being perfect. It is about being committed to doing your best, remaining open to learning and being willing to improve what you do. In higher education, that commitment is important because our work ultimately affects people and the future of our society,” she explained.
Integrity is equally important to her. In her academic work and as Chairperson of the DUT Gender Forum, she strives to be transparent and accountable while advancing conversations around gender equity and transformation at DUT.
Compassion, she believes, is what brings these values together.
“People come into the university with different experiences, challenges and aspirations. Compassion means taking the time to understand those experiences and recognising the person behind the role or title. It is about creating spaces where people feel seen, heard and respected,” she said.
Through the Gender Forum, Dr Govender continues to contribute to conversations around gender equity and transformation, while her academic development work allows her to support the growth of staff and students.
Reflecting on Women’s Month, she believes the occasion should be about more than simply celebrating women.
“Women’s Month should give us an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come, but also to ask what still needs to change. We should celebrate women’s achievements while continuing to speak honestly about the barriers that women experience and the work that still needs to be done to create genuine equality,” she said.
For her, the month is also an opportunity to recognise the different ways in which women contribute to society.
“Women do not all have the same journeys, and we should not expect them to. What matters is that women are given the opportunity to define their own paths, to lead, to contribute and to use their voices without being limited by stereotypes or expectations,” she added.
As a woman in higher education, Dr Govender continues to demonstrate that leadership can take many forms: through teaching, research, advocacy, mentorship and creating space for others.
Her story is also a reminder that the impact women make is not always measured by a single achievement. Sometimes, it is seen in the people they support, the conversations they start and the opportunities they help create.
As Women’s Month comes to an end, DUT celebrates Dr Govender and the many women across the University who continue to lead, inspire, support and make a difference in their respective spaces.
Pictured: Dr Rosaline Govender.
Tiyani Mboweni
