Restoring What Microaggressions Diminish: The Role of Peer Networks in Faculty Participation and Agency

• In Event: Environment for Inclusion

Abstract

Gendered, racialized and rankist work environments cause tenure-track women, under-represented minority, and non-tenure track faculty to feel diminished and have their legitimacy questioned. Grounded in an understanding of micro-aggressions, legitimacy within organizations, and agency in career advancement, this study uses data from faculty peer networks, including participant observations, program evaluations and interviews, to better understand the experience of being diminished by others underestimating expertise, feelings of isolation, and silencing. Furthermore, this study looks at how participation in peer networks can assist faculty within each group to “transgress” micro-aggressions and find allies, peer recognition, and legitimacy within these spaces, thus disrupting negative work environments and assisting in the development of agency in career advancement.

Authors

• Kerry Ann O' Meara, University of Maryland - College Park

• Lindsey Lee Templeton, University of Maryland - College Park

• Gudrun Nyunt, University of Maryland - College Park