Complicating Advancement Into and in Academia: The Counternarratives of Women of Color and White Women in Higher Education

• In Event: 16.061 - Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: 16.061-6 - Addressing Racism in the Academy: Experiences of Faculty of Color

Abstract

Informed by critical feminist and critical race feminist thinking, we sought to understand the pathways into and in academia of 32 tenured self-identified cisgendered women of color and white women. Whereas dominant narratives describe progression in academia as a linear, narrow, objective process, the experiences and approaches of the women in our study demonstrate powerful alternatives to progressing and thriving in academia. Specifically, the women in our study described trial and error, a blending of personal and professional, and collectives as the foundations and fuel for their advancement in academia. Our findings will be of interest to academic advisors/counselors, graduate school mentors, and graduate education faculty.

Authors

• Aimee LaPointe Terosky, Saint Joseph's University

• Leslie D. Gonzales, Michigan State University