Leaving the Institution: Academic Women and Retirement

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ABSTRACT Only relatively recently have significant numbers of women been able to have academic careers and develop a sense of academic identity that encompasses scholarly contributions to their discipline. The literature has traced the progress and accomplishments of academic women and has now begun to consider the transition to retirement. Arguably, the institution that shaped academic identity is powerful in the decision to retire and permeates life in retirement. We explore this affective relationship through oral histories with 32 academic women, focusing on the decision to retire and how women narrate the academic self. The decision to retire was multi-faceted reflecting personal circumstances, such as health or caring responsibilities, but inseparable from institutional contexts that were often negative. Women often spoke of relentless demands of their institutions and their tiredness. Many remained critical of their institution after retiring while continuing unpaid academic activity, particularly research. While retirement was usually a continuation of academic identity, this was sometimes rejected for new endeavours. Leaving behind performative expectations, in retirement many women academics found greater space for pleasure and fulfilment.