Within this broad focal area, she has looked at the drivers of vulnerability to pandemics such as HIV among poor, young, Black women, specifically the confluence of gender power inequities, wealth inequalities and globalization in the production of HIV risk and gender-based violence. Recently, Prof Zembe-Zondi has conducted two studies examining (i) the role of inequality in the food choices of South Africans of different racial groupings in four cities in the country, and (ii) the intersections between food choices and gender power inequities in a peri-urban setting in Cape Town.

In addition to Prof Zembe-Zondi’s research and teaching portfolios, she is also as an Academic Leader (AL) for Community Engagement (CE) at Howard College, UKZN. In her role as AL for Community Engagement, Zembe-Zondi is particularly interested in facilitating conversations concerning the theories and ethics that CE should be grounded in.

Previously Zembe-Zondi worked as a social worker in the townships of Cape Town, and also as a development facilitator and trainer, and volunteered in numerous organizations targeting youth in trouble with the law. Prof Zembe-Zondi is committed to the upliftment of those who are socially marginalized, excluded, and oppressed by various forms of poverty and structural violence.