Sticky Floors and Glass Ceilings: Transformation of a Criminology Journal in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

Privileges of race and gender remain characteristic of the South African landscape despite the end of apartheid in 1994. Little is known in the country about race and gender (in)equalities in the production and dissemination of knowledge. This paper reports on the race and gender profile of authors who published in the Acta Criminologica: African Journal of Criminology and Victimology with particular reference to first and second authorship, academic positions, research methods and the universities from which publications originate. Interval sampling was used to select 385 articles that were published between 1993 and 2018. The results show that, overall, White male scholars dominated publications and nearly two in five articles originated from one university. A statistically significant shift featured in publications from Black male and female researchers, as well as articles from marginalized universities, although these changes only occurred towards the end of the study period. The study further confirms racial homogeneity in multi-authored publications, and that men are mostly responsible for quantitative research articles. Male and female scholars from minority groups were virtually absent from publications in the journal. Overall, the study shows that transformation of the Acta Criminologica is taking place at a slow pace.