Systemic Discrimination and Marginalization of African Immigrant Women in Academia

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: Leveraging Equity Among Women Across the Continents (Table 9)

Abstract

A recent case of recruitment for an associate chair position of a department raised concerns about the lack of equal playing field for all who seek to play leadership roles in academia. An African immigrant woman associate professor with 21 years’ experience, competed with two white assistant professors with less than eight years’ experience each. In conformity to the laid down rules, she went through an interview process including oral presentation and displayed exceptional leadership qualities, and faculty members overwhelmingly voted for her. Surprisingly, the administration announced shortly after that the white colleague clinched the position. Against this backdrop, our study sought to explore the barriers that African immigrant women faculty need to overcome to attain leadership roles in academia.

Authors

• Lilian Naa Obiorkor Tetteh, Texas Tech University
  Presenting Author

• Faith Maina, Texas Tech University
  Presenting Author

• Amani Zaier, Texas Tech University
  Presenting Author