Dr Mia Strand from the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research at Nelson Mandela University has been selected as the South African, and one of 23 worldwide finalists, in line for the US$1.1 million Frontiers Planet Prize, in April this year.
“Support women around you, and actively cite women from the Global South, should you advance a career in research. I am continuously motivated by the brilliant, caring and passionate women in my life, and the next generation of researchers from universities all over the country.”
Mia was born in Oslo, Norway, but has lived most of her adult life in South Africa, originally moving here for her master’s degree in African studies at the University of Cape Town, almost nine years ago.
Mia’s PhD focused on inequality and inequity in ocean governance, and she explored the value of arts-based participatory research with Indigenous and local community members as co-researchers for more equitable and inclusive approaches to marine spatial planning and marine protected areas in South Africa.
Although this research did not have a specific gender focus, I found that women face even greater exclusion from ocean decision-making - at local, national and international scale. Some of my subsequent work has therefore specifically focused on elevating the voices of small-scale fisher women in relation to ocean governance.
I believe that, although there are and have been great advances in the opportunities for women in research, we still have a long way to go to reach gender equality and equity.
Women in the Global South are particularly underrepresented among top-publishing ecology and conservation authors, which means that the research and science we base our decision-making on is not representative of people, who are often the most impacted by ocean degradation, climate change impacts and inequitable conservation policies.
Mia completed two short courses in Global Environmental Management in Cape Coast (Ghana) and Peace and Conflict Studies in Pondicherry (India), and her bachelor’s in politics and international relations, at the University of Manchester (United Kingdom).
“These prompted my motivations to further understand the current colonial legacies in knowledge production, development relationships and environmental management approaches”, she says.
She has worked with several non-governmental organisations, mainly focusing on gender-based rights and children’s access to experiencing the ocean in Cape Town.
“Through this work I have a better understanding of some of the challenges “we are still experiencing today when it comes to gender equality, particularly for LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals, people in rural areas and young people.
“Although I loved the work in the NGO and development sector, my passion was still in research, and I was very lucky to have the opportunity to pursue a PhD with Professor Bernadette Snow and Dr Nina Rivers as my supervisors at Mandela University.”