Belonging as Resistance Among Mid-Level Women of Color Administrators in Higher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 9:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Care, Belonging, and Restoration in Academia and Education

Abstract

This qualitative study used narrative inquiry to understand how women of color mid-level administrators resist the dominant norms in the organizational culture of higher education through the cultivation of belonging. Using kuwentuhan (or “Filipino talk story”), data was collected from 13 participants across two large, public universities in Southern California with minority-serving designations. The study has two key findings: (a) women of color mid-level administrators are adversely impacted by the prioritization of growth and prestige as well as a sense of stratified value based on role and identities, and (b) they practice coalition building through genuine relationships, exercise care and compassion within their locus of control, and maintain a commitment to authenticity as their approaches for cultivating belonging.

Author

• Rachelle Martinez, University of San Diego