Exploring female academics' resiliency during the pandemic

Academics in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) faced difficulties during the pandemic when moving from face-to-face instruction to online learning and teaching platforms. In particular, female academics were challenged to find unique and innovative methods of merging their professional responsibilities with personal commitments amid COVID-19 restrictions. In response to Harris’s (2022) endorsement of the fact that resiliency could be part of the solution in future-proofing education systems, three female academics from different geographic locations question how they maintained their personal and professional resiliency, and how their resiliency compared before and after the pandemic. This collaborative autoethnographical study was based on an epistemological interpretivist paradigm and used in vivo and descriptive coding to place the researchers’ narratives into themes and sub-themes including personal issues of blurred work boundaries, isolation from friends and family, concern for others’ health and the sacrifice of family time. Professional themes included ‘compassion fatigue’ when meeting student needs, demands as ‘mothering’ academics, and a desire for socialisation. It was found that resiliency was maintained both personally and professionally, but as a process rather than being measured in binary terms. Interestingly, it was strengthened when participants cultivated optimistic attitudes whilst taking the opportunity to ‘nest’ and practice ‘self care’ leading each participant to be more resilient after the pandemic, than before. Strategies are suggested for future proofing female academics’ resiliency as they transition to the new post-pandemic normal. Whilst research is available about how to maintain personal self care and professional development, this study is unique as it identifies the benefits for professional self care. Also, as an autoethnographic study the findings speak for female academics whose voices are normally heard as researchers, but are not researched themselves