Gender, class and the meritocratic ideal: the case of the life sciences in Italian academia

Within the Public Sector, Italian Universities have recently gone through important changes aimed at reducing costs, increasing efficiency and promoting a managerial culture based on hyper-productivity and entrepreneurship. Based on a case study conducted in a life-sciences department, this research explores to what extent the new academic culture has contributed to reshaping the notion of the ideal academic and what the implications for women are. The meritocratic ideal has contributed to modifying the old university model based on co-optation, opening up opportunities for female academics. However, gender inequalities still persist: they resist changes and acquire new forms, while the mantra of excellence risks making them more invisible. Moreover, where opportunities exist, they tend to be the prerogative of few women: those who can endure years of precarity and make specific reproductive choices. From this perspective, recent transformations risk increasing inequalities among women themselves.