the current research interrogates the experience of gendered academic micro-politics in two academic settings namely the conventional and open and distant learning (ODL) systems in Sri Lanka. Particularly, it attempts to determine the role and relevance of gendered micro-politics within the conventional academic systems (in Sri Lanka) and compare those with the findings of the ODL system (Sri Lanka). The paper in this regard seeks to present an analysis of the relative academic progression of male and female academics and look at the relevance of gendered micro-politics to their stories and experiences of academic advancement or disadvantage. Further, the paper interrogates whether and if so, how such gendered micro-politics configure academic life and identify the specificities unto the two settings of conventional and ODL, if any. // Paper ID 350