ABSTRACT
The concept of excellence is driving the new governance in academia. At the same time, family-friendly initiatives as part of diversity and gender-mainstreaming policies are gaining ever-increasing recognition, although historically academia is shaped by hegemonic masculinity and a care-less culture. In this chapter, we explore on the basis of qualitative interview material how Austrian and German early career scholars meeting the demands of being excellent and at the same time caring for others. Our analysis shows that the daily work arrangements of the respondents are gender unequal. Female scholars still face more struggles with the reconciliation of academic and family care work demands, while men are more likely to be able to take time off from family responsibilities and pursue their academic careers. Our contribution shows the private costs that female academics pay to be part of excellent academia, and that there is a further need for gender equality policy in higher education.
