Pacific Islander Women Within Higher Education Leadership

• In Event: 28.089 - MTCC Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: 28.089-12 - Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institutions and Asian American and Pacific Islander Leadership in Higher Education

Abstract

Little is known about Pacific Islander (PI) women’s experiences within higher education leadership. This qualitative study examined three mid-level PI women’s experiences that contribute to or hinder their career trajectories. More importantly, this study provides the opportunity to give voice to a population that is rarely identified in post-secondary literature and continually obscured in higher educational leadership discourse. Through interviews, conversations, examining personal journal entries, and collecting images, findings revealed three themes: 1) leadership styles and characteristics are incongruent with hegemonic depictions of leadership, 2) PI women’s identity perpetuates normative cultures, and 3) institutional barriers create systemic challenges for upward mobility. The implications reveal that more research is needed to understand PI women’s unique challenges to obtaining post-secondary leadership positions.

Author

• Sushini Chand, San Francisco State University