Navigating geopolitics in academia: the struggles and triumphs of female scholars from the Global South

This chapter examines systemic inequalities in the global academic landscape, focusing on the mobility challenges faced by early-career female researchers from the Global South. Despite growing discourse on inclusivity, these scholars encounter significant barriers to mobility, collaboration, and career advancement, compounded by deeply rooted gendered power dynamics. Using autoethnography and unstructured interviews, this chapter highlights the financial, emotional, and temporal burdens borne by the Global South scholars while critiquing the structural and ideological barriers and institutional disadvantages. The chapter explores how bureaucratic restrictions, visa procedures, biases and stereotypes disproportionately affect the professional and personal lives of these scholars, limiting their participation in global academia. Our analysis contributes to the edited volume by positioning female scholars from the Global South as figures who strategically navigate geopolitics while carving out careers for themselves in the global academic world. The chapter advocates for a reimagined academic world that provides equal opportunities and access to all while equally valuing diverse perspectives.