Belonging and agency: High-achieving undergraduate women of colour navigating STEM

• In Event: Access and Experiences in STEM

Abstract

We examine how high-achieving women of colour navigate exclusionary cultures in Canadian undergraduate STEM programs through agentic strategies. Using reflexive thematic analysis of two focus groups (N=8), we explored experiences at the intersection of personal and STEM identity. Our framework conceptualizes belonging as both state and process, while positioning agency as intentional power to create change. Students leverage their intersectional identities to actively shape their STEM experiences and create belonging despite systemic barriers. Two themes that emerged: representations between self and others, and between self and STEM. Our work challenges deficit-based narratives and contributes to research on agency and belonging by documenting how marginalized women transform multiple identities into sources of strength, revealing how intersectionality enables agentic navigation strategies.

Authors

• Nichole Powell, Emory University

• Dalen Arthur, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

• Lonimi Christina Ayekun, University of Guelph

• Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen, University of Ontario Institute of Technology