Abstract
The paper will present results of PhD. research focused on the changing position of women in the academia in the Czech republic. Using historical probes to different periods of the second half of the twentieth century, it seeks answers to the following questions: How did the status of women change in the context of changes in science assessment? (focusing on the transition to scientometric methods of evaluation after 1989), How was the career path of women scientists influenced by social pressure and expectations?, How did the political situation affect the choice of disciplines women scientists decided to dedicate their lives to? Who were idols and inspirational characters of women who have chosen scientific career? What were their strategies of self-assertion in the male dominated environment? What was the role of their family circumstances in their careers paths? Research uses biographical interviews as one of the main sources.
The research uses snowball sampling to cover various career paths, including scholars who decided to leave academia at some point. One of the research objectives is to identify which barriers prevented women from developing academic careers and how have those barriers changed, depending on the historical and political context but also which strategies, life approaches and circumstances have led to successful scientific careers.