A tale of resilience: a collaborative autoethnography of international female academics in Australia
Li, Dongmei, Nachatar Singh, Jasvir Kaur, and Ng, Linda (2026) A tale of resilience: a collaborative autoethnography of international female academics in Australia. Higher Education Research and Development. (In Press)
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Abstract
Barriers of international academics in higher education are well captured in the literature. However, literature on a holistic view including barriers, opportunities, strategies and success (B.O.S.S) is scarce. This article, underpinned by the B.O.S.S framework, encapsulates a holistic depiction of lived experiences of three academics in Australia, while participating in a virtual inter-institutional mentoring programme for international women academics. This collaborative autoethnography finds that, while the authors have encountered a range of barriers, including misalignment in work roles, limited access to mentoring opportunities and established support networks, as well as experiences of impostor syndrome, they have actively sought opportunities and developed strategies to address many of these challenges. These strategies included seeking mentoring, engaging in collaboration, and building supportive professional relationships. Through these efforts, the authors experienced varying degrees of success, such as strengthened academic identity, career progression and promotion, and external and international recognition. This study contributes to the higher education literature by addressing an empirical gap in research on international women academics and by highlighting the role of virtual mentoring in supporting career advancement, while also offering practical implications for institutions and individuals.
| Item ID: | 91700 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1469-8366 |
| Keywords: | barriers, collaborative autoethnography, International academics, opportunities, strategies, success framework, women academics |
| Copyright Information: | © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Sep 2026 06:48 |
| FoR Codes: | 47 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 4702 Cultural studies > 470212 Multicultural, intercultural and cross-cultural studies @ 50% 39 EDUCATION > 3903 Education systems > 390303 Higher education @ 50% |
| SEO Codes: | 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1601 Learner and learning > 160102 Higher education @ 20% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1603 Teaching and curriculum > 160303 Teacher and instructor development @ 50% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1602 Schools and learning environments > 160202 Gender aspects in education @ 30% |
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