THE IMPLICATIONS OF BALANCING AN ACADEMIC CAREER AND MOTHERHOOD FOR WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION

In the twenty-first century, increasing numbers of girls and women are moving into intellectual and occupational spheres traditionally seen to be masculine (Francis 2000). These changes involve the performance of new forms of femininity, a distancing from variants traditionally perceived as normative and the adoption of qualities previously viewed as masculine. Yet this new reinvented femininity is just as regulated as previous forms of femininity. Girls and women are clearly paying a price for their success, as women develop illnesses of stress previously only seen in men. The downside of female 'success' is apparent in the double and sometimes triple shift of many female academicians juggling work, child care and further study. This paper remains a humble attempt at exploring the myth of higher education being conducive to female professionals and the reason behind a colossal loss of valuable national intellectual resources in the higher education sector and suggest newperspectives with the prevalent social system in mind.