Universities are ¡°not innocent¡± when it comes to perpetuating racism and sexism and may be ¡°part of the machine¡± that contributes towards social injustice, a leading vice-chancellor has warned.

Mamokgethi Phakeng, vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, told the?Times Higher Education?World Academic Summit that institutions needed to show more ¡°reflection and humility¡± around their own ¡°complicity¡± in exacerbating inequalities and might be judged, in part, on whether their leadership teams are diverse.

¡°We must never assume that universities are innocent in all this discrimination and marginalisation of the other ¨C in a way, universities have been part of the machine that reproduces inequality,¡± Professor Phakeng told the virtual event held on 2 September.

¡°In some instances, the university ¨C by which I¡¯m saying the university in general terms ¨C is not innocent in the reproduction of racism and sexism,¡± explained Professor Phakeng, who has led Africa¡¯s top-ranked university since July 2018. ¡°As long as we think we are innocent, we are not going to do a good job [in tackling these problems],¡± she added.

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The lack of diversity within the leadership teams of many universities indicated how they were ¡°complicit¡± in the ¡°unequal, racist and patriarchal world in which we live¡±, argued Professor Phakeng, whose university now has an all-women academic executive team.

¡°You just have to see who are running universities, who is succeeding at universities and who is not,¡± she said on how universities might be assessed in their commitment to these agendas.

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If universities were serious about producing ¡°global citizens¡± who would tackle social injustice, they should ¡°approach this issue with great reflection and humility because we are not innocent¡±, she said.

Universities could also do more to stop the ¡°exploitation of the Global South¡± by richer, Western nations, Professor Phakeng claimed.

¡°It doesn¡¯t start somewhere in the street ¨C it is there and happens in the universities as well,¡± she explained, adding that some scholars viewed countries from the Global South as ¡°places of data¡± to be studied, rather than equitable research partners.

University teaching should also change to tackle these social inequalities, which included the ¡°exploitation of women in favour of the power of masculinity¡±, said Professor Phakeng.

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Scholars should consider ¡°how does this play out in the environment where we are [and] what is the position of women¡± and ¡°how do we make sure this filters into what we teach¡±, she explained.

¡°It is a challenge but it calls on us to start critiquing ourselves and functioning differently,¡± said Professor Phakeng, who said this was a difficult task because the ¡°power of masculinity and white privilege was totally entrenched¡±.

¡°The truth of the matter is the leader who faces these issues upfront and deals with them honestly will not necessarily get out of there unscathed ¨C this is a difficult thing to handle,¡± said Professor Phakeng, who said Cape Town had recently had an institutional commission into some of these issues.

¡°We are grappling with these issues and it is not easy to [do this]¡­but we have to face them,¡± she said.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com