(In)Visible Labor: Reflections From a Latina Faculty

• In Event: Narratives of Resistance and Resilience: The Experiences of Women-of-Color Scholars in Predominantly White Colleges/Schools of Education

Abstract

Reflecting on my lived experiences as a Latina junior faculty member in a department of education as testimonio, my paper explores how the “hidden curriculum” of the tenure track disadvantages and discredits the contributions of women of color. Testimonios in the academia have been critical for Chicanas/Latinas and women of color to document the ways the academy has marginalized, while at the same time tokenized their scholarship and identities (The Latina Feminist Group, 2001). Despite the growing enrollment of Latina/o students in higher education, Latinas represent only 2% of the total faculty nationwide (National Center for Education Statistic, 2017). I teach at the second-most diverse campus in the nation and emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), where students of color represent 55 percent of the total population. However, I am one of two Latinas in my department at campus whose faculty is majority-White faculty. In this paper, I specifically focus on issues related to tokenism and the (in)visibility of my labor. I discuss how I have become typecast as the Latina who “does” Latino research. However, many of my colleagues and students have misconstrued my research by assuming that I must focus on Spanish-language development or research Latin American populations, among other areas that are unrelated to my research.

I reflect on the stereotypes projected onto my brown body. In my first year on the tenure- track, I quickly learned that as a woman of color, I must negotiate these stereotypes in order to meet the expectations of a tenure-track faculty. If I am perceived as talking back and uncivil, I fulfill the stereotype of the spitfire Latina. At the same time, if I am perceived as being quiet and compliant, I fulfill the stereotype of the passive Latina. The “hidden curriculum” and the double standards that are placed on women of color as “presumed incompetent” (Muhs, Niemann, González, & Harris, 2012) and the ways Latinas are “co-opted and manipulated for departmental or university interest, which include a façade of diversity” are emotionally and physically exhausting (García, 2005, p. 266).

I then discuss how my body and labor as a brown woman becomes (in)visible within and outside the walls of academia. For example, when departments or campuses form committees, we are often expected to represent a diverse voice. At the same time, when we fail to show up, we become labeled as not collegial. I also discuss the added labor involved in mentorship, advocating for, and supporting students of color.

Thus, I have often felt that my scholarship, service, and community contributions become (in)visible as I navigate the “hidden curriculum” of the tenure track. While research has shown that recruiting and retaining faculty, administrators, and staff from diverse backgrounds in institutions of higher education are essential to improving the educational experiences of all students, but more so for the retention of Latina/o students, this goal will not be realized if institutions of higher education continue to tokenize and delegitimize the scholarship, pedagogical approaches, and service of women of color academics.

Author

• Norma A Marrun, University of Nevada - Las Vegas