Portraits of White Women Managers Reflecting Upon Racism, Classism, and Equity in Higher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Racism in Higher Education: Strategies to Disrupt Institutionalized Oppression and Lead Toward Racial Justice

Abstract

Objectives: Conducted during the global pandemic and mainstream awareness of Black Lives Matter in 2020, this paper presents the unique experience of White women managers who are both oppressed by patriarchy and advantaged by their whiteness (McIntosh, 1997; Patel, 2016). The research provides insight into structural racism built into the policies that these managers carry out as well as presents the participants own efforts at acknowledging racist beliefs and learning to be anti-racist.

Theoretical framework:
Critical White Studies (CWS) informs us that White people are taught not to see themselves as having a race (McIntosh, 1997; Gallagher, 1997). This perspective maintains White superiority by placing White people and White culture as the norm against which all others are judged. By centering Whiteness in the data, a critical lens exposes assumptions that tend to go unquestioned and through this process the centering of Whiteness is used to decenter the White narrative.

Methods:
Portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) was used to explore not only the participants' understanding and experience with systemic racism but also to include the context of mainstream awareness of Black Lives Matter and the global pandemic that upended the way higher education work was conducted throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

Data:
Participants were self-identified White, women, classified as managers by the California State University system. As the only “at will,” employees in the system, they can be fired without cause, adding complexity to the work these women do for equity and justice in their institutions. Advocating for equity when leadership or direct supervisors are not on the same page is risky and may prevent people from taking a stand (Bohonos, 2019).

Results:
The ideas, research, and economic impact that come from higher education are profound for society, but the roots of colonialism and ongoing systemic racism in the institution are difficult to unravel. The stories shared by the participants on the importance of education in their lives demonstrate the value of education and include important insights for leaders. Because White people so often do not consider themselves as having a race, that belief systematizes racism on campus. White students very often come to campus from predominantly White neighborhoods and towns. Their lack of experience with other cultures, coupled with media portrayals that stereotype and present BIPOC people as criminals or “illegal immigrants'' leads to fear and defensive posturing.

Significance:
One challenge of educating White people about racism is getting them to see themselves as racialized and to recognize the privileges they receive from their Whiteness (Gusa, 2010). Because White people conceptualize themselves as raceless and normal (Gallagher, 1997; Gusa, 2010), when they do become aware of their Whiteness their understanding tends to be complex and often contradictory (Bohonos, 2019). This study centered Whiteness in an effort to expose the systems, beliefs and actions that reify white superiority, allowing for a clearer picture of Whiteness in higher education that can then be used to dismantle those systems and beliefs.

Author

• Lisa Ziska-Marchand, Scripps College