Reinvention: An Institution's Responsibility, Not Mid-Career Diverse Women's

• In Event: 47.044 - Faculty at Mid-Career: A Time of Reinvention and Intentional Growth

Abstract

Presently, there is a spotlight on mid-career women in business holding leadership roles. However, it is also time to widen the spotlight on developing mid-career diverse women for leadership roles in education. This paper reviews study findings on diverse women faculty’s career experiences. It also presents a call to action for education administrators to use research to reinvent leadership development programs to include diverse women faculty through mid- and later career stages.
This study was based on a synthesis of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and mentoring research. CRT posits that racism is endemic in American society, thereby influencing practices that negatively impact diverse individuals (Delgado & Stefancic, 2000). Researchers (e.g., Sue et al., 2007) used CRT to investigate the workplace experiences of underrepresented faculty and found racially/ethnically diverse faculty incurred marginalizing behaviors from Whites colleagues. CRT scholars used intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989) to identify barriers to diverse women being placed in leadership roles. In addition, Rosette, Koval, Ma, and Livingston (2016) addressed the influence of agentic deficiency as the perception that women are not equipped to be leaders.
A basic interpretive qualitative methodology (Merriam, 2009) guided this exploration of women faculty career experiences in athletic training education programs. Participants across career stages self-identified as African American/Black, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican American, Japanese American, Japanese born, Bi- and Multi-ethnic (NATA, 2013). Data was collected from an online survey and individual semi-structured interviews, then analyzed using a constant comparative method to identify inductive themes.
Analysis of participant data indicated that women faculty across African, Latinx, and Asian Diasporas experienced workplace racial/ethnic and gendered discrimination. This discrimination was manifested as institutional marginalization and microaggressions. These direct and indirect systematic and colleague practices negatively influenced women’s career advancement experiences. As a result, marginalization and microaggressions served as barriers to women faculty achieving their current career-stage aspirations at their current institution.
Additional analysis of mid-career diverse women revealed they aspired to hold leadership roles and described colleague microaggressions challenged their opportunities to assume leadership roles. Also, mid-career women explained how their institution had systems in place that they perceived as marginalizing. Finally, these mid-career participants explained how their institution was complacent in moving mid-career diverse women faculty into leadership roles.
These findings are significant because it reaffirms the pervasiveness of mid-career diverse women faculty being marginalized. The findings also reveal a need for education organizations to address institutional discrimination and establish leadership development programs for mid-career diverse women. The findings also reveal that despite educational institutions’ increased efforts to publicize their diversity and inclusion practices, mid-career women faculty across African, Latinx, Asian, and Native American Diasporas remain disproportionately underrepresented in education leadership roles. In this post-truth era, it is time for scholars to move beyond these consistent quantitative and qualitative findings and explore ways for institutions to intentionally move mid-career diverse women into leadership roles in education.

Author

• Carrie Graham, Catawba College