Factors influencing the willingness of South African Indian parents to consent to their daughters pursuing tertiary education and careers

Abstract

This study explores the willingness of Indian parents to allow their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers. This study firstly focused on how women who pursued tertiary education and careers were perceived by family and the Indian community when parents were growing up. Secondly, the study underscored the willingness of parents these days to allow their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers. A qualitative research approach, using in-depth, semi-structured life-story interviews was used in the study to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that resulted in the development of certain perceptions towards women who pursued tertiary education and careers in the parents’ youth. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. A pilot study using purposive and snowball sampling was conducted using seven (7) sets of Muslim and Hindu parents. Thereafter, further questions were generated for the main study, where thirteen (13) sets of both Muslim and Hindu parents were interviewed. The results of the study indicate that the attitude towards women pursuing tertiary education and careers has evolved over time. Parents are these days more willing to allow their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers. In the past women had not been encouraged to study and work. However, this perception has changed today. There is a great demand for Indian women in the workplace and many Indian women are enrolling every year at different universities to pursue tertiary education. The South African laws support women empowerment and education and, as a whole, many contributions in the country are made by women.