Gendering the Ethiopian Knowledge Diasporas: Addressing Gender Inequality and Inequity in Public Higher Education

Abstract

The image of Ethiopian women is characterized by carrying heavy barrels of water; bending under heavy bundles of firewood, crouching over fires in kitchens cooking injera or sitting in the markets/streets with their youngest child clinging on them or at their breast while selling goods. The variety of roles that women play in Ethiopia, including their economic contributions, is as yet little recognized or valued. Like many African women, Ethiopian women have suffered economic, socio-cultural hardship and discrimination over many years. Although they are pillars of Ethiopia, their contributions are measured by their roles as mothers and wives, but not necessarily as a core part of the economic development of the country. Full economic growth of Ethiopia is not possible without the active involvement of women in Ethiopia as well as in the diaspora; although this is yet to be realized. This article will attempt to highlight the multidimensional aspects of gender inequality and inequity that exist in higher education in Ethiopia, despite efforts to mitigate the situation, and will bring to light the potential contribution that mobilizing the Ethiopian female knowledge diaspora can make.