The Need for a Deeper Theorisation on Race and Gender Equity in South African STEM: Drawing on Fraser's Participatory Parity, Decolonial, and Decolonial Feminist Insights

In this chapter, key theories and concepts related to social justice and inequality in South African higher education are critically analysed and merged to find a new and unique perspective in assigning meaning to experiences of inequality and oppression amongst Black South African women in STEM. This is particularly important, given the pervasiveness of ongoing violence and oppression against Black women and other minority groups in developing contexts, as a result of the nuanced complexities associated with intersectional dynamics. Therefore, this chapter presents a novel conceptual framework to study marginalised women’s experiences in the sciences, as a means of refraining from simplistic perspectives. In doing so, it finds itself situated at a juncture between critical theory and a decolonial feminist paradigm in drawing on both strands of thought, specifically Fraser's perspectival dualism, as well as aspects of the coloniality of power, knowledge and gender. The framework first aims to distinguish between two similar yet distinct schools of thought, and second to demonstrate how both can be applied to scholarly and activism work in STEM, highlighting issues of equity and social justice.