Recent changes within the higher education system have affected the balance of academic labour. This article is based on interviews with 25 women lecturers in Education Faculties at Swedish Universities. It specifically addresses the shifting balance in terms of the increased separation between teaching and research in relation to gender, and the relationship between career advancement and gender this promotes. Distinctions concerning gender and academic labour and an enhancement of these power structures are identified, as well as how these affect possibilities of academic advancement. In conclusion, this study illustrates how women academics understand and navigate their academic career in relation to gendered attributes of academic work such as competitiveness, caretaking and responsibility are discussed.