Black Women Academics and Title VII Lawsuits: Academic Bullying as a Form of Gendered-Race Discrimination

• In Event: Gatekeeping and Gaslighting: Systematic Obstructions to Tenure for Black Women Faculty

Abstract

This critical qualitative study rooted in intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989) is designed to examine and illuminate bullying experiences in the tenure process for Black women academics at predominantly and historically white institutions (PHWIs). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was extended to higher education institutions in 1972 and because the federal law is intended to address discriminatory actions in the workplace. We investigate Title VII’s use by Black women academics within tenure-related lawsuits filed between 1972-2022. Baez’s (2002) study utilized Lexis-Nexus to examine the 52 lawsuits filed between the mid-1970s and 2000. Using the lawsuit transcripts as narratives, Baez (2002) identified 14 Black women and four Black men who pursued legal action regarding a tenure denial. All 18 cases filed by Black scholars argued the discriminatory disparate treatment was a critical factor in the decisions. The American Association of Women also reported being locked out of co-authorship, denied financial resources, and minimal collaborations as reasons for scholars of color missing a sense of belonging and support necessary for a successful tenure bid.
Using an intersectional lens, we explore Black women’s unique gendered-race identity as faculty members seeking to obtain tenure within PHWIs which are not designed for their participation and that continually demonstrate intersectional failure (author, 2021) we recognize and address bullying and other saboteur activities in tenure and promotion processes. Literature on tenure and promotion illuminates gendered-race discrimination embedded in PHWIs (Griffin et al., 2013; author, 2022) and the deleterious effects of higher education workplace bullying especially on Black women (author, 2018). Through our exploration, we aim to identify and explain intersectional injustice against Black women academics within PHWIs and in the courts when they seek legal redress for employment discrimination.
We conclude the chapter with strategies that encourage Black women to (re) imagine their relationships to and expectations of PHWIs. We will also reiterate recommendations from numerous Black women scholars for how institutions can create and maintain personhood-affirming work environments for Black women academics to thrive and experience holistic wellness. Through our research, we advance the need for a revised tenure and promotion process that embraces a non-discriminatory approach deemed critical procedural justice. Through this revised process, higher education would depart from standard operations, which are informed by racism and sexism. Instead, a tenure and promotion committee would employ anti-racism in its deliberations to create equitable reviews and grant more access to faculty of color. Institutions could minimize potential liability and associated court costs through a critical procedural justice approach that embraces the intersectional inequities in the tenure and promotion cycle.

Author

• LaWanda W. Ward, Pennsylvania State University