The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande, has reaffirmed government's commitment to placing women and girls at the centre of South Africa's science, technology and innovation agenda.

Speaking at the 23rd South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA) gala dinner at the NH Hotel Sandton in Johannesburg, Minister Nzimande said the country's development ambitions could not be achieved while women and girls remained excluded from opportunities in science, technology and innovation.

"No nation can ever hope to reach its true potential if it excludes its women and girls from opportunities in science, technology and innovation," Minister Nzimande said.

The 2026 SAWiSA theme, "Placing Women at the Centre of Science, Technology and Innovation", reflects the Department's ongoing commitment to transformation, inclusion and excellence across the national system of innovation.

The awards celebrate women's achievements across the natural, life, physical and engineering sciences; the humanities and social sciences; public engagement with science; and innovation for impact. They also support the development of future women scientists through fellowships for master's and doctoral students.

Minister Nzimande congratulated Professors Liesl Zühlke, Priscilla Baker and Karen Sliwa-Hahnl for their national and international recognition, saying their achievements continue to elevate South African science on the world stage.

At the event, Minister Nzimande announced that one of the SAWiSA fellowship categories will be renamed the DSTI-Prof Keolebogile Shirley Motaung Fellowship, in honour of the late Professor Keolebogile Shirley Motaung.

Professor Motaung, affectionately known as Prof Keo, was one of South Africa's most decorated Black women scientists. Her pioneering work in stem cells and regenerative medicine, strongly grounded in indigenous knowledge systems, expanded the frontiers of modern African science.

The Minister said the decision followed a commitment made to Professor Motaung's family to explore an appropriate way to honour her contribution and preserve her legacy for future generations of scientists.

Minister Nzimande said the Department's transformation agenda is guided by the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation and the Science, Technology and Innovation Decadal Plan for 2022–2032.

He said science, technology and innovation must be used deliberately to confront poverty, unemployment and inequality, including the exclusion and marginalisation of women and girls.

"Transformation is not a symbolic gesture, but a moral and strategic necessity," Minister Nzimande said. The Minister noted several areas of progress in expanding women's participation in the science system. He stated that women constitute 52% of the academic workforce and 47.7% of the national research workforce. In 2024, women accounted for 62.6% of total university enrolments.

Equity targets require at least 55% of postgraduate bursaries to be awarded to women and 80% to Black students. In the 2025/26 financial year, 6 246 postgraduate students received bursary support. A total of 1 644 emerging researchers were supported, including 708 Black women emerging researchers.

The Minister further indicated that of the 198 operational South African Research Chairs as of April 2026, 104, or 53%, are held by women. Despite this progress, Minister Nzimande said the transformation journey remains incomplete, with women still underrepresented in research leadership and in critical STEM disciplines such as engineering, computer science and artificial intelligence.

He added that early-career researchers continue to face structural barriers, while female-owned technology enterprises experience severe venture capital constraints.

The Department, together with its entity the Technology Innovation Agency, is providing targeted seed funding, incubation and venture capital support for female-led technology enterprises.

Minister Nzimande said the objective is to empower women not only as high-calibre researchers and scientists, but also as enterprise founders and industrial pioneers.

"Meaningful transformation cannot end with a published paper; it must extend into intellectual property, patents and global market leadership," he said.

Minister Nzimande said the SAWiSA 2026 theme must translate into concrete gains for women and girls in STEM over the next 10 to 20 years. He emphasised that placing women at the centre of science, technology and innovation requires sustained investment in skills development, research leadership, entrepreneurship and equitable access to opportunities across the innovation value chain.