The Netflix drama, The Chair, received some excitement among academics as it presented a pretty accurate portrayal (despite some technical flaws) of lived experiences of women professors and their challenges in neoliberal universities. In reality, the gloomy state of higher education and problems are far more complex and difficult than in the series. Universities have become places where managerialist and PR concerns overrule academic ones.
Academics are under increasing pressure to be hypercompetitive for resources and various forms of metrics to deliver visible work – league tables, publications, research degree advisory loads, student enrolments and student evaluation scores. Academics are encouraged to “engage the public” but cautioned not to be too controversial.
There are structural constraints and dominant mindsets that limit the universities potential to be a conducive place for women academics and leaders to thrive and florish. Women academics’ challenges and voices are often silenced, marginalised and not openly addressed or acknowledged. A very strong and chilling line in The Chair is when Ji-Yoon comes to a realization about her predicament: “I feel like someone handed me a ticking time bomb because they wanted to make sure a woman was holding it when it explodes.”
In Season 2 Episode 1, Dr. Nisha (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishatourismexpert/) and Dr. Catheryn Khoo ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcatherynkhoo/) are in conversation with an activist scholar, Dr. Freya Higgins-Desbiolles. Freya is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, Business Unit, University of South Australia and Adjunct Associate Professor with Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo. Her activist and scholarly work focuses on social justice, human rights and sustainability issues in tourism. She has worked with industry, community and non-profits on projects that have worked at the cutting edge of ethical and sustainable tourism. She has been a sought-after media commentator and her articles in the Conversation have had more than one million readers. She has won awards for excellence in teaching, research, industry engagement and media presence. She is authentic, bold and courageous as well as highly critical in raising the structural injustice in tourism and academia.
Freya can be contacted via
Email :Freya.HigginsDesbiolles@unisa.edu.au https://people.unisa.edu.au/freya.higginsdesbiolles
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freya-higgins-desbiolles/
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFRxHrVnSSqszZgaDonn4g
Women We Watch is jointly hosted by:
World Women Tourism: https://www.worldwomentourism.com/
The Flapper Life: https://www.theflapperlife.com/