Search

Youth unemployment in Ethiopia is a widespread problem that threatens the country’s economic and political stability. This quantitative article, driven by the active participation of the youth, aims to provide insight into the national context of youth unemployability in Ethiopia. Methodologically, we conducted a quantitative analysis of secondary data collected as part of a national youth-focused project in Ethiopia between 2021 and 2023 using a participatory action research (YPAR) framework. YPAR serves as the theoretical foundation that undergirds this analysis. Regarding the demographic characteristics of the participants, 3,215 youth were surveyed about their employment experiences. The data reported in this article comes from 545 survey respondents who were higher education students enrolled in 10 universities and six colleges across Ethiopia. Among the respondents, 52.1% were women and 47.9% were men. The respondents were aged between 18 and 29, with 13.5% falling into the 18–19, 58.5% in the 20–24, and 28% in the 25–29 age brackets. We conducted a descriptive analysis: all non-Likert categorical variables and demographic questions were evaluated using frequency and percentage computations, while means, medians, and standard deviations were generated for the Likert-scaled questions to provide insight into the participants’ responses. The findings from this analysis can help education researchers and practitioners understand that a major stakeholder group is missing from policy development conversations in Ethiopia: students. We conclude by discussing how YPAR, emphasizing youth participation, can be helpful for future research and policy development about employment for Ethiopian university graduates.

AbstractIn Ethiopia, women’s access to higher education is a priority for many higher education leaders. Moreover, education access and participation are often measured quantitatively through enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Often overlooked, however, are qualitative outcomes related to gender. To address this gap in the literature, we explore faculty perspectives on gender inequities in Ethiopian higher education by describing specific challenges to gender-equitable pedagogy and reporting participant-generated recommendations. We used an equity pedagogy framework and thematic analysis to examine qualitative data from interviews with 32 university faculty. We found that participants conflated equality with equity, and thus justified the use of a uniform pedagogy for all students. Barriers to gender equitable pedagogy included: pervasive gender stereotypes, curricula and learning environments centered on male learners, and the perception of “gender issues” as ancillary In relation to this last finding, faculty often viewed “gender issues” as political, societal, or outside the realm of their teaching responsibilities. Based on these findings, we discuss how gender inequity in Ethiopian higher education is systemic and should be approached as such. We conclude the paper with participant-generated recommendations.

This qualitative study investigates the behaviors and strategies of effective leadership teams within ethnic community-based organizations (ECBOs) operating in the United States that consist of leaders who are themselves former refugees. Through analysis of four focus group interviews, each with three to five leaders from local Bhutanese, Burundian, Congolese, and Syrian communities, we identified ways in which these leaders exhibit transformational leadership behaviors proposed by established frameworks. Results reveal that effective ECBO leaders exhibit strong transformational leadership qualities, such as empowering community members, modeling behavior, and projecting a community vision. The study emphasizes the unique context of ECBOs and their leaders, showcasing their thoughtfulness, competency, and profound awareness of community members’ backgrounds. The implications include recognizing and valuing the skills of ECBO leaders and considering formal support mechanisms. This study contributes insights into the leadership exhibited within local community organizations serving refugee populations—enhancing our understanding of quality leadership among grassroots refugee organizations.

The devaluation of women of Color (WoC) by way of gender discrimination and systemic racism is well documented. For WoC in engineering a chief cause is the observable wage gap. Women who identify as Asian, Black/African American, Latina/Chicana, Indigenous/Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Native Alaskan, and/or multiracial have reported stark wage disparities. In this paper, we offer a phenomenological study of how WoC engineering faculty across U.S. academic institutions describe the challenges and practices associated with wage disparities and how they navigate these disparities. This study, which is based on participant interviews, is guided by three research questions: (1) What do WoC engineering tenure-track faculty perceive about wage disparities based on their race and gender? (2) How do WoC faculty understand the institutional practices that contribute to wage disparities? and (3) How do WoC engineering faculty respond to and address wage disparities? Using structural racism and intersectionality as our guiding conceptual framework, we interviewed 32 self-identified WoC who identified structures and systems of institutional racism related to the maintenance of wage disparities. In terms of findings, we note that WoC have two primary strategies to respond to wage disparity: advocacy and agency. The experiences of WoC engineering faculty in our study highlight unsatisfying institutional responses, and thus WoC often rely on their own agency to advocate for themselves and to advocate for and mentor other WoC faculty. We found a few notable cases where men advocated for women to help close the wage gap. Our work reveals that pay inequity for WoC is often coupled with other forms of exclusion and marginalization. Reducing wage disparities in academia is critical to advancing diversity efforts and ensuring equitable support for WoC faculty. Our findings suggest that institutions can work diligently to rectify wage inequality, including making sustainable structural and salary modifications and sharing the burden of combatting wage inequities. Finally, our findings also highlight the importance of making policy changes to reduce pay inequalities, such as providing transparent pay information and more opportunities to earn merit raises.

In Ethiopia, women's access to higher education is a priority for many higher education leaders. Moreover, education access and participation are often measured quantitatively through enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Often overlooked, however, are qualitative outcomes related to gender. To address this gap in the literature, we explore faculty perspectives on gender inequities in Ethiopian higher education by describing specific challenges to gender-equitable pedagogy and reporting participant-generated recommendations. We used an equity pedagogy framework and thematic analysis to examine qualitative data from interviews with 32 university faculty. We found that participants conflated equality with equity, and thus justified the use of a uniform pedagogy for all students. Barriers to gender equitable pedagogy included: pervasive gender stereotypes, curricula and learning environments centered on male learners, and the perception of "gender issues" as ancillary In relation to this last finding, faculty often viewed "gender issues" as political, societal, or outside the realm of their teaching responsibilities. Based on these findings, we discuss how gender inequity in Ethiopian higher education is systemic and should be approached as such. We conclude the paper with participant-generated recommendations.