Being Polish scientists and women – between glorious past and difficult present: The ‘reverse dynamic of equality construction’

Abstract

This paper focuses on the dynamics that animate the situation of women inside academia and the social world of science. Based on a long-term ethnographic study we chose specific cases (scientists educated in Poland) to illustrate the complexity of the career-making process in the 21st century. In this country, in a social and professional environment that has belonged to the European Union for 12 years, we observed several particularities. In order to demonstrate the process of ‘reverse dynamic of equality construction’ we adapted a longue durée perspective. Our article shows how so-called ‘democratization’ dynamics (after the political changes of 1989) influenced the professional trajectories of women in Poland. The data suggest a progressive deterioration of the situation for Polish female scientists – a process that is ignored by the majority of Polish scholars.