Conclusion: The Process of Becoming a Woman Professor and Unbecoming Gender Equality: A Female Drama of Resistance

Abstract

This chapter presents a synthesis of these female career progression narratives in the form of a semi-fictionalized narrative dramatization crafted from the voices of the female professors themselves. Taking on the multiple role of narrator, observer, interpreter, analyst, playwright, and researcher, I pick on particular moments of these narratives, in order to tell how these made it against all odds. This case study is further interpreted through Foucauldian theory, mainly his concepts of discipline, power relations, discourse, governmentality, and subjectification. Foucault is presented as one of the characters who has a discussion with me (Denise) and the female academic voices in order to interpret the themes unfolding within the scene. This enables the incorporation of researcher interpretation and theory without breaking the flow of the narrative. This play is crafted through a deep engagement with each individual narrative and through getting to know the story of each woman professor. This unconventional mode of data representation [examples of which can be accessed in Mifsud (2016) and Mifsud (2017)] mirrors the unconventional path followed by the female academics in a higher education environment pervaded by hegemonic male discourses. Produced through the eyes of an aspiring woman professor (still very much a passionate researcher in the making), this drama is meant to open up a dialogic space for a likewise-minded academic community. This chapter provides cohesion to the book and, being set in an active and positive framework, suggests methods of regaining control while providing options for the future. This aids opening up for the future rather than just anchoring the narrative within previous experiences.