ABSTRACT
Evidence suggests that female researchers and educators find it particularly difficult to enter and navigate the professional world of academia. One of the unique barriers that challenge women on this journey is self-doubt or lack of confidence. This is especially true for culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) women, as they are likely to experience continual linguistic discrimination and under-representation in professional environments. Recent research shows, however, that despite common perception of self-doubt as a barrier to study and career progress, it has a potential to help these women become more resilient. Through the lens of our own journey as CaLD female academics from Ukraine in Australia, we negotiate the process of turning self-doubt into resilience on the way to the long-term success and satisfaction. We employ the Ukrainian literature style of lirychnyi tvir (lyric text) to reflect on our lived experiences, thoughts and feelings, drawing attention to the neglected challenges that prevent self-actualisation of CaLD female researchers and educators in Australian society and suggesting how those can be overcome.
