A call for sisterhood in academic development: reclaiming care and connection

In academic development, women often carry the burden of unseen emotional labor, holding space for others while rarely being held themselves. This reflection, co-authored by two women from different cultural and institutional contexts, draws on lived experience and feminist ethics of care to call for sisterhood. Despite differences, the authors share common ground in the emotional toll of their work and the invisibility of their contributions. They argue for relationship-rich, emotionally sustaining collegiality. Reframing care as essential for survival, political, and sustaining, this piece offers a provocation: What might academic development look like if it centered on reciprocity, recognized emotional labor, and valued solidarity as scholarly practice? What if we led not with strategy – but with sisterhood?