ON THE EDGE OF FAILURE: STORIES OF FEMALE DISPLACED SCHOLARS FROM BELARUS

Abstract

The article examines the experiences of displaced female scholars who struggle to maintain their professional identities due to the
challenges of forced migration. It draws on the stories of women who have involuntarily emigrated and experienced setbacks in their success, achievements, and overall happiness — whether through a complete loss of professional status or significant changes to their identities. Notably, the paper focuses on female scholars from Belarus, who were forced to leave the country after 2020. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with these scholars, representatives of host institutions, and the Scholars at Risk program, the author argues that, rather than viewing lack of success as a personal failure, this perspective helps to highlight the complexities of the integration process and reveals existing structural and institutional gaps in the support programs designed for displaced female
academics from peripheral societies.