This Is What Inclusion Looks Like: Counternarratives of Women Faculty of Color in Predominantly White Institutions

• In Event: 43.028 - Mentoring, Monitoring, and Moving Through Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to make the intangible notion of inclusion tangible and visible in the academy by examining experiences of women of color in predominantly White institutions. In an era where truth is mutable, this study shows provides another dimension of truth in the academy vis a vis inclusion. Five women of color who teach in PWIs in various geographic areas in U.S. participated in the study. They hold terminal degrees in their fields of study and have been teaching in the academy for an average of 10 years. Four themes emerged from data including, (a)psychological toll of teaching in PWIs, (b) the disjuncture between diversity and inclusion (c) meaning of inclusion and (d) falsity of neutrality.

Authors

• Shirley N. Mthethwa-Sommers, Nazareth College

• Rasheeda Ahmad, Cabrini University