ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to showcase the gendered nature of the neoliberal changes in academia. It begins with the presentation of the consequences of new public management. Further, the author argues on the myth of meritocracy and showcases the evidence of gender bias in performance evaluations that impact career development. The literature review is followed by the empirical discussion, where the author presents the experiences of women from the CEE region. Interviews reveal the ambiguity and chaos visible in the higher education sector across CEE. This results in increasing anxiety and stress among academics as the expectations on their performance are in constant flux. The author presents the impact of the changes in performance evaluations on different aspects of academic work such as teaching, research, and administrative work. The final part of the results show the cracking myth of meritocracy.
