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Leading from the margins: exploring the perspectives of Black women in leadership roles at predominantly white institutions
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Leading from the margins: exploring the perspectives of Black women in leadership roles at predominantly white institutions
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Content
Leading From the Margins: Exploring the Perspectives of Black Women in Leadership
Roles at Predominantly White Institutions
by
Toni Jenae Richardson
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
August 2022
© Copyright by Toni Jenae Richardson 2022
All Rights Reserved
The Committee for Toni Richardson certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Adrianna Kezar
Viannda Hawkins
Patricia Tobey, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2022
iv
Abstract
Black women in higher education leadership experience complex forms of discrimination that
impact how they operate in their professional roles. This study used an intersectional and
ecological lens to explore the racialized and gendered experiences of Black women in leadership
roles at a predominantly White institution. Using a qualitative methodology, this study analyzed
how 11 Black women perceived their experiences as leaders at predominantly White institutions
(PWIs) across the United States, their institution’s diversity climate, and how it may impact their
self-efficacy and leadership approaches. The findings revealed that Black women’s unique
identity-related experiences in the workplace interacted with the contextual components of the
different ecological contexts within PWIs: microaggressions and uncomfortable conversations
within the department, low representation of Black women in leadership, the diversity initiatives
of the institution, and the influence of the institution’s geographic region. This study also
concluded that the participants held positive self-efficacy beliefs especially when reinforced by
leadership, incorporated empathy, utilized self-preserving behaviors, and felt a sense of
responsibility to Black students and staff in their leadership approaches. Finally, the findings
demonstrated that in order for institutions to create positive climates for diversity, Black women
needed to see formalized strategies to promote diversity in leadership and to feel that their work
is respected.
Keywords: Black women, leadership, higher education, PWI, diversity, campus climate
v
Acknowledgments
I cannot express how grateful I am for the support I received throughout this dissertation
process. I want to first thank my parents, Cecile and Anthony, for instilling confidence and hard
work into me and never letting me forget that I am capable of anything. You both have taught me
to be steadfast, yet patient all while providing priceless, unconditional love and support. My
siblings, aunties, uncles, and cousins have never stopped cheering for me and I am so happy to
be in the position to now cheer for them and to remind them what they are all capable of
achieving. I did this for my family. This is for Compton. This is for Lynell and Leon Heisser.
This is for Ianthe Still.
I would like to sincerely thank my committee for the wisdom, support, guidance, and
kindness throughout this process. Dr. Patricia Tobey, your empathetic nature and authentic
investment into my topic was exactly what I needed to drive me to the finish line. Dr. Adrianna
Kezar, your tactical and critical approaches to research and leadership inspired me to craft a
profound study that challenged current approaches to DEI. Dr. Viannda Hawkins, you captivated
me with your professionalism, authenticity, skill, and grace from the first day I stepped foot into
your classroom during my master’s program. It was without question that having you on my
committee would strengthen my study and my lens on my identities as a Black woman in
leadership. I thank you so much for your invaluable support and mentorship throughout the past
six years.
I cannot go without acknowledging my peers, friends, partner, and mentors. This process
was life-changing and significant for many reasons, but I am forever grateful for the community
of Black doctors I was able to form lifelong bonds with over the past few years. Dr. Johnson, Dr.
Dolliole, Dr. Coats, Dr. Tucker, look what we did. We centered ourselves in our research and
vi
nurtured each other through every step. To my partner, James, thank you for lifting me up when I
felt the weight of everything bearing down on me all at once. Thank you for your unconditional
love and support. To the amazing groups of friends I was blessed with, I love you for always
being a shoulder and for celebrating the small victories with me along the way.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the trailblazing teachers that lead me to this path
before I knew I wanted this. Ms. Williams, Mrs. Contreras, Mr. Inge, Mr. Lane, Mrs. Golden,
Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Guy, Mrs. Castrejon, Dr. Campbell. … Thank you. I am proud to now call you
my colleagues and hopefully leave the same mark on others that you have all left on me.
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. x
Chapter One: Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 1
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study and Guiding Questions ..................................................................... 4
Theoretical Perspective ....................................................................................................... 5
Importance of the Problem .................................................................................................. 6
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................... 7
Definitions of Terms ........................................................................................................... 7
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .......................................................................................... 9
Campus Racial Climate and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices ............................ 9
Historical Marginalization of Black Women in the Workplace ....................................... 14
The Marginalization of Black Women Professionals in Higher Education ...................... 16
Black Women in Higher Education Leadership ............................................................... 20
Self-Efficacy ..................................................................................................................... 21
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 23
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 31
Qualitative Inquiry ............................................................................................................ 31
Sample and Population ..................................................................................................... 32
Data Collection and Instrumentation ................................................................................ 33
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 33
viii
Role of the Researcher ...................................................................................................... 34
Trustworthiness and Credibility ........................................................................................ 35
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................... 36
Ethics................................................................................................................................. 36
Chapter Four: Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 38
Participant Profiles ............................................................................................................ 38
Findings for Research Question 1 ..................................................................................... 42
Findings for Research Question 2 ..................................................................................... 57
Findings for Research Question 3 ..................................................................................... 65
Chapter Five: Discussion .............................................................................................................. 69
Contextual Experiences of Black Women in Leadership at PWIs ................................... 70
Approaches to Leadership and Self-Efficacy ................................................................... 74
Formalized DEI Strategies and Respecting the Work ...................................................... 78
Implications for Practice ................................................................................................... 80
Recommendations for Practice ......................................................................................... 81
Recommendations for Future Research ............................................................................ 84
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 85
References ..................................................................................................................................... 86
Appendix A: IRB Information Sheet ............................................................................................ 92
Appendix B: Outreach Email ........................................................................................................ 94
Appendix C: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................... 95
Appendix D: Theoretical Alignment Matrix ................................................................................. 97
Appendix E: A Priori Coding Sheet .............................................................................................. 98
ix
List of Tables
Table 1: Participant Overview …………………………………………………………………. 39
Appendix D: Theoretical Alignment Matrix ……………………………….……………………97
Table E1: Codes for RQ 1……………………………………………………………………......98
Table E2: Codes for RQ 2……………………………………………………………………......99
Table E3: Codes for RQ 3……………………………………………………………………......99
x
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework….…………………………………………………….…24
Figure 2: Research Question 1 Themes…………………………………………………….43
1
Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Over time, institutions of higher education have developed strategies to align the
increasing racial and ethnic diversity of their student body with that of their faculty and staff
(Jean-Marie et al., 2011). Although predominantly White institutions (PWIs) have committed to
strengthening their efforts in the recruitment and retention of Black professionals, the
experiences of these professionals still reflect the negative diversity climates being maintained at
PWIs (Hurtado et al., 1998). It is important to consider the complex racialized experiences of
Black professionals, specifically Black leaders, at PWIs, and how their many identities may
further impact how they view their place in the institution.
This population of higher education professionals requires robust forms of professional
support, but there is a higher need for institutional reform that addresses the campus climate
through a critical lens to create more inclusive professional environments. Black women leaders
must juggle the racialized and gendered forms of oppression in predominantly White higher
education spaces, despite the level of power yielded by their role on campus. Black women
leaders in higher education operate from a “marginalized status without full, permanent power”
(Johnson & Thomas, 2012, p. 157). Their experiences in leadership roles should be amplified so
institutions can better understand their needs and how they could create more inclusive spaces
for them to thrive.
Background of the Problem
The intersectional experiences of Black women, specifically, were the focus of this study.
Black women sit at a unique nexus of race and gender which creates social and professional
barriers that Black men and White women could not identify with. As a Black woman working at
a PWI, I can attest to the feelings of invisibility, mistrust, and lack of belonging that are explored
2
in current literature addressing the employment experiences of Black women in White spaces. It
is important to contextualize this research by exploring the inequities surrounding the
representation of Black women in leadership roles in higher education. I also aimed to identify
the influence of race on the overall institutional climate as a significant element of the Black
professional experience at PWIs.
The underrepresentation of Black women in higher education leadership can be attributed
to the lack of institutional support available to Black women, the lower overall representation of
Black professionals at PWIs, and Black women leaving higher education after the completion of
their doctoral degrees due to lack of opportunities for professional advancement (Wolfe &
Dilworth, 2015). It is safe to “attribute the modest representation of African American
administrators and faculty members to systemic barriers impeding the recruitment, advancement,
and tenure of African Americans at PWIs of higher learning” (Webster & Brown, 2019, p. 87).
There has been a history of inequities in leadership opportunities for Black faculty and staff on
college campuses. According to an executive report published by the Campaign for College
Opportunity (2018), “69% of students enrolled in college in California are ethnically or racially
diverse, yet over 60% of college faculty and senior leadership on California’s campuses and 74%
of Academic Senators are White” (p. 4). Black faculty and staff are also more frequently
defaulted into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions at PWIs; however, this does not
provide them with the power necessary to make a profound influence on campus (Gasman et al.,
2015). Administrators of color are also known to occupy positions within student services that
carry an “assistant” or “associate” title (Valverde & Castenell, 1998), which further limits their
decision-making power when it comes to major policy changes. If the institution does not create
3
a welcoming, progressive environment, racial and ethnic minorities will encounter more barriers
and ceilings to their career at that institution (Wolfe & Freeman, 2013).
Campus climate and the goal of achieving a positive climate for diversity at PWIs also
influence the approach to this study. Hurtado et al. (1998) argue that campus climate research
has yielded no specific framework for understanding campus climate. Institutions have
historically taken a hands-off, “laissez-faire” approach to evaluating and improving their campus
racial climates, but this approach has minimized how much of an impact institutional factors
have on the experiences of students and the overall campus climate. When serving diverse
populations of students, it is important that we employ a systematic approach to understanding
the students’ experiences as well as how constituents like faculty and staff experience the racial
climate of the institution. This study will focus on what Hurtado et al. (1998) has identified as
the psychological and behavioral climates through the intersectional lenses of Black women
administrators.
Statement of the Problem
Black women are underrepresented in decision-making leadership roles at PWIs (Jean-
Marie et al., 2011). This gap is not only rooted in the flaws in institutional recruitment processes
but also can be attributed to the experiences of Black women in leadership roles and how they
are influenced by their race and gender. Institutions have worked to refine their hiring practices
to increase the representation of Black faculty and administrators, but in order to act in alignment
with their missions to promote racial equity, executive university leaders must also commit to
cultivating a positive institutional climate that nurtures professionals from diverse populations.
PWIs of higher education have ethnocentric approaches to leadership that do not give space for
Black professionals to thrive as leaders. They are guided by their robust mission statements and
4
the promise to make deliberate advances toward racial equity to maintain the approval of the
stakeholders. The historical presence of racism in higher education permeates modern
administrative practices and has impacted the representation and experiences of Black woman
administrators in higher education.
The experiences of Black women leaders at PWIs are often under-examined and
misunderstood. There should be more structural practices that are designed to maintain a positive
diversity climate equipped to support their Black women professionals. The diversity climates of
PWIs do not always reflect that of an equitable space where Black leaders can thrive. Giving
voice to leaders from marginalized populations requires intentionality. Institutions must
deliberately regard differences in the lived experiences, adaptive strategies, achievements, and
obstacles that Black professionals endure in comparison to their White counterparts.
Purpose of the Study and Guiding Questions
The goal of the study was to examine how the intersectional experiences of Black women
leaders influence how they perceive their abilities to effectively communicate, make decisions,
and receive positive feedback from colleagues and supervisors. This research aimed to
understand how Black women in these roles perceive their interactions and how their
experiences are unique based on their identities. I investigated how their experiences influence
their leadership approaches, perceived effectiveness, or level of power in their role, and their
self-efficacy.
The research questions that guided the study are as follows:
1. How do Black women in leadership positions at PWIs perceive their experiences and
interactions?
5
2. How do the experiences of Black women in leadership positions at PWIs shape their
self-efficacy, leadership styles, and overall perception of their effectiveness as
leaders?
3. How do Black women in leadership roles at PWIs perceive their department’s ability
to achieve a positive climate for diversity?
Theoretical Perspective
This study integrated aspects of Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems theory with
a critical race/Black feminist epistemology to describe the professional experiences of Black
women leaders at a PWI. Bronfenbrenner (1977) was used to address the immediate and broad
climates and systems that impact or interact with Black women’s perception of their identities
and approaches to leadership. The ways in which the departmental climate, overall institutional
climate, and the greater sociopolitical environment impact the way Black women leaders in
higher education approach leadership are significant to understanding how they perceive their
experiences. This study aimed to focus on how those ecological factors uniquely impact Black
women holding leadership roles on a predominantly White campus.
Aspects of both critical race feminist and Black feminist theoretical frameworks also
informed this study. Critical race feminism (CRF) emphasizes the intersections of race, gender,
and class that impact the inequitable power structures that women are required to navigate (Sulé,
2011). Collins (1991) introduced Black feminist thought, a critical social theory, to give power to
the lived experiences of Black women. She argued that “social theories emerging from and/or on
behalf of U.S. Black women and other historically oppressed groups aim to find ways to escape
from, survive in, and/or oppose prevailing social and economic injustice” (Collins, 1991, p. 9).
6
Black feminism is used as an activist response to their continuous subjugation to the intersecting
systems of racial, gender, and sexual oppression.
Importance of the Problem
As institutions develop their approaches to making campus spaces more diverse and
equitable, executive leaders must not act beyond creating opportunities for professionals from
marginalized backgrounds to occupy leadership positions through diversity-minded recruitment
strategies. It is also the institution’s responsibility to listen and learn from the experiences of its
constituents of color, all while providing a nurturing environment in which leaders of color could
thrive. Higher education leadership research has maintained a male-dominant focus that is not
inclusive of a dually marginalized population of leaders, like Black women.
The sociocultural experiences of Black women professionals at PWIs are integral to
leadership research. The realities of Black women in higher education leadership are complex,
but they give insight into how Black women interact with the racial climate of the institutions
that they serve. As higher education institutions aim to take equitable approaches toward
leadership and create positive diversity climates that nurture students and professionals from
marginalized backgrounds, they must consider the many realities that exist within their
institutions. This research will demonstrate how the diversity climates of PWIs are perceived by
Black women leaders, who represent a marginalized population of university constituents but
also hold positions of power within the university. It will inform university stakeholders such as
presidents and governing boards as they develop DEI strategies toward creating more inclusive
environments and eliminating systems of oppression that impact students and staff from
historically marginalized communities. Amplifying the voices of Black women as they recount
their experiences in their professional positions of power will allow executive leaders to
7
understand the persisting systemic issues perpetuated through the institution’s culture and overall
climate that inhibit Black leaders from making an impact on the policies and practices of the
institution. It will reinforce the need to move beyond representation and enact the university’s
mission toward embracing diversity more authentically
Organization of the Study
This dissertation will begin with a review of past and current literature surrounding
diversity politics, the lived experiences of Black women in the professional realm, higher
education’s subjugation of Black women professionals, and other relevant concepts. I will follow
with Chapter 3, which will include an overview of my research design and methodology used.
Chapter 4 will cover the themes and codes I extracted from interview data. I will conclude my
dissertation with Chapter 5, the summary, discussion, and implications for practice.
Definitions of Terms
• Black or African American: “A person having origins in any of the Black racial
groups of Africa” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). I use Black and African American
interchangeably based on the variations within the literature.
• Black feminist thought: Black feminist thought is a critical social theory that centers
the lived experiences of Black women and their interactions with the structural and
symbolic systems of oppression in the United States (Collins, 1991)
• Campus racial/diversity climate: “a concept that students are educated in distinct
racial contexts” that are shaped by institutional and external factors (Hurtado et. al.,
1998, p. 282)
8
• Critical race feminism: “a gendered intersectional epistemology that recognizes how
race, gender, class, and other identities dynamically intersect to explain access to
resources and the reproduction of power hierarchies” (Sulé, 2011, p.143)
• Leader/administrator: For the purpose of this study, administrator, senior
administrator, and leader will be used interchangeably to describe individuals who
occupy director-level positions and higher, including, but not limited to, executive
director, assistant dean, associate dean, dean, assistant vice-president, vice-president,
vice provost, provost, and president. This aligns with the traditional leadership
structure of large universities (Davis & Maldonado, 2015).
• Leadership approaches: an individual’s unique strategies and coping mechanisms
within their role. “Black women take a unique approach to leadership considering
that the leadership environment is of the perspective of White males: fluidity of
perspective, reconciliation, and negotiation of power, observation in relationships,
securing voice through allies, internalization, balancing leadership identity (Johnson
& Thomas, 2012).
• Predominantly White institution: an informal designation assigned to campuses that
have a majority White student population (Bourke, 2016)
• Self-efficacy: an individual’s perception of their ability to execute behaviors to
achieve a desired outcome (Bandura, 1977)
9
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
In this chapter, I will explore the literature that has influenced my approach to
understanding the experiences of Black women in leadership at PWIs. I will begin with an
exploration of campus climate and diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices in higher
education to frame the context of the study. Then, I will explore the racialized and gendered
experiences of Black women in professional settings and within higher education contexts. I will
end this chapter with an overview of the theories and epistemological approaches that make up
my conceptual framework that guides this research design.
Campus Racial Climate and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practices
In order to understand the experiences of Black women in leadership at a PWI, it is
important to dissect the institution’s overall climate and structure. A PWI is an informal
designation assigned to campuses that have a majority White student population. PWIs are also
commonly referred to as “traditionally” or “historically” White institutions (Bourke, 2016). From
a CRT perspective, the PWI designation implies an inequitable power structure at the institution
and reinforces an important tenet of CRT that describes “Whiteness as property” in educational
settings (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). Through the CRT lens, “the word “predominant”
reflects an ongoing social practice according to which Whiteness maintains a place of
supremacy, resulting in the continued subjugation of people of color” (Bourke, 2016, p. 15). This
designation has an indirect influence on the overall culture of the institution that may reinforce
racism and White dominance.
Diversity Agendas in Higher Education
Higher education institutions have made intentional efforts to incorporate elements of
diversity into their missions, curricula, and overall practices. Diversity initiatives are usually
10
introduced by the president and align with the overall institutional mission to further demonstrate
that it is a core value of the institution. Initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion can exist in
micro or macro forms and can be enacted through top-down approaches from executive leaders
or from bottom-up approaches from faculty and staff (Kezar, 2008).
The politicization of diversity is also significant when it comes to understanding the
experiences of students and staff from underrepresented groups. While diversity initiatives are
usually put in place to support and increase the representation of marginalized populations, they
often face criticism and resistance from dominant groups. “Faculty, staff, and students from
dominant groups often perceive the development of specific programs for groups that have been
traditionally underrepresented on campus as taking away resources and support from dominant
groups” (Kezar, 2008, p. 411). For example, although Proposition 209 eradicated any race, sex,
ethnicity, or color-based affirmative action strategies in public institutions in California,
including “goals and timetables to encourage the hiring of members of underrepresented groups”
(Proposition 209, 1996), individuals from underrepresented racial backgrounds who are
appointed into leadership positions are often perceived as the “diversity hire” (Davis &
Maldonado, 2015). This label carries the assumption that people of color, specifically Black
women, are only awarded leadership positions as a part of an institutional diversity agenda.
Campus Climate
How students, faculty, staff, and the overall campus community perceive racial diversity
and cross-cultural interactions construct a campus’s diversity or racial climate (Hurtado et. al,
1998). Campus diversity climate is “a concept that students are educated in distinct racial
contexts” that are shaped by institutional and external factors (Hurtado et. al., 1998, p. 282).
11
Through a multidisciplinary analysis of the foundations and impact of campus racial climates,
Hurtado et al. (1998) identify the four dimensions of an institution’s diversity climate as the
campus’ historical legacy of inclusions or exclusion of various racial or ethnic groups, its
structural diversity (i.e., the numerical and proportional representation of diverse groups
on campus), its psychological climate (i.e., perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs about
diversity) and its behavioral climate (i.e., how different racial and ethnic groups interact
on campus). (p. 282)
Achieving a positive climate for diversity is also significant from the staff perspective.
Using an empirical study, Mayhew et. al (2006) explored how university staff perceives the
diversity climate of a large, public PWI in the Midwest. Their study measured how six variables
(staff demographics (i.e., gender, race, age, and education), staff professional characteristics (i.e.,
length of employment, job classification and job affiliation), local unit structural diversity,
perceptions of department climate for diversity, perceptions of institutional commitment to
diversity, and personal experiences with diversity) impacted staff perceptions of their
institution’s overall diversity climate. The study yielded that
four of the six blocks of variables (i.e., staff demographics, department climate for
diversity, institutional commitment to diversity, and staff experiences with diversity)
contributed significantly to explaining staff members’ perceptions of their institutions as
having achieved a positive climate for diversity. (Mayhew et al., 2006, p. 76)
When the data were disaggregated by gender, female participants were also less likely than
males to perceive the campus’s diversity climate as positive, further demonstrating the unique
position of female higher education professionals (Mayhew et al., 2006). According to Mayhew
et al. (2006), “staff members who were more likely to perceive that there were major institutional
12
obstacles (i.e., scarcity of qualified women and minorities, and insufficient interest in funding
and recruiting women and minorities) to increasing diversity on campus were also more likely to
perceive that their communities had not achieved a positive climate for diversity” (p. 84).
Mayhew et. al (2006) argued that
This finding is intriguing, especially in light of findings concerning the lack of significant
effects of a department’s structural diversity on perceptions of institutional climate.
Perhaps, the impact of structural diversity on staff perceptions of the campus
community’s ability to achieve a positive climate for diversity occurs at the institutional
level, while the impact of psychological climate on these same perceptions occurs at the
department level. (p. 84)
Harper and Hurtado (2011) synthesized 15 years of campus racial climate literature to
understand students’ perceptions of campus climate and assess universities’ administrative
strategies toward cultivating positive campus racial climates. This synthesis supported the
assertion that students and staff from minoritized backgrounds at PWIs were likely to have
experienced racism on campus and have negative perceptions of their campus racial climate.
Harper and Hurtado (2011) also explored nine themes that emerged from a qualitative study of
campus racial climates at five predominantly White universities: cross-race consensus regarding
institutional negligence, race as a four-letter word and an avoidable topic, self-reports of racial
segregation, gaps in social satisfaction by race, reputational legacies for racism, White student
overestimation of minority student satisfaction, the pervasiveness of Whiteness in space,
curricula, and activities, the consciousness-powerlessness paradox among racial/ethnic minority
staff, and unexplored qualitative realities of race in institutional assessment.
Diversity in Leadership at PWIs
13
Wolfe and Dilworth (2015) asserted that PWI, land-grant institutions rely on tradition and
colorblindness to maintain their inequitable distribution of White campus leaders in comparison
to Black professionals who hold leadership roles. The literature on diversity in higher education
administration traditionally focuses on strategic, structural diversity policies and practices
instead of exploring the career experiences and sociocultural development of Black higher
education professionals (Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015). Wolfe and Dilworth (2015) found it
important to explore the intersections of racial diversity, leadership, and privilege in higher
education administration, specifically at PWIs. In their qualitative meta-synthesis of literature on
race and leadership in higher education from 1965 to 2014, Wolfe and Dilworth (2015)
concluded that predominantly White institutions should enact diversity in leadership through the
assumption that “the conceptualization and inclusion of minority experiences must not only
inform stakeholders but also shape the recruitment, retention, and assessment of minority
representation at the university administrative level” (p. 667). They found three common themes
amongst the literature that could potentially ground a deeper analysis into the experiences of
Black administrators in higher education: organizational culture, leadership, and diversity.
According to Wolfe and Dilworth (2015),
the expression of leadership has become identified with and embedded in how White
interpersonal relations are developed. Furthermore, the idea of diversity leadership in
higher education may not be compatible with organizational culture at PWIs, because
diversity challenges homogeneity in leadership rankings. (p. 685)
Other factors such as the lack of a multicultural lens, the outsider status of Black professionals,
and internalized racism were identified as factors that contributed to the further oppression of
this population.
14
Many Black faculty and staff have identified barriers to be the “revolving door
syndrome”—the high turnover rate for Black professionals at PWIs—and feeling excluded by
the gatekeeper behavior of White faculty and staff during the recruitment of Black professionals
(Valverde & Castenell, 1998). At some PWIs,
honest recruitment efforts were neutralized by aggressive opposition of White faculty and
traditional gatekeeping mechanisms. In the end, minority candidates didn’t meet the
expected performance criteria required to be tenured and were “legitimately” rejected—
without being counseled, mentored, assisted, supported, and taught to become productive
intellectuals like White faculty. In other words, ethnically different faculty were placed in
a rather hostile environment and simply dismissed. (Valverde & Castenell, 1998, p. 76)
Historical Marginalization of Black Women in the Workplace
Since this study is aimed at understanding the complex experiences of Black women in
leadership roles at a PWI, it is important to understand the systemic racial and gender oppression
experienced by Black women throughout history. Black women have historically been
stereotyped into roles that have negatively impacted how they are viewed in social, academic,
and professional environments. This further contributes to Black women feeling isolated and
othered in professional spaces, which I will explore in the following sections.
Stereotypes
Black women have been historically marginalized in the United States. Their external
identities have been socially constructed and influenced by the social and psychological impacts
of slavery, segregation and the Jim Crow era, racism and stereotypes, and patriarchy (Harris-
Perry, 2011). Black women have been historically devalued by negative stereotypes such as
being depicted as lewd and hypersexual, the submissive and nurturing caretaker, or irrationally
15
angry and indignant (Harris-Perry, 2011). “Emerging images, such as the unstable Crazy Black
Bitch (CBB) and the constant overachieving Superwoman” (p. 130), also impact the experiences
and interactions of Black women in both social and professional environments (Reynolds-Dobbs
et al., 2008). In A Black Feminist Reconstruction of Agency, Black graduate student and student
affairs professional, Kiaya Demere White (2019), recounted her academic and professional
experiences at a PWI with the following statement:
I had to combat the Angry Black Woman stereotype by making sure my directness was
paired with a lower and gentler tone of voice. I had to make sure that my niceness and
willingness to help weren’t taken advantage of and I wasn’t becoming the office’s Black
Mammy. I began to become aware that my body and presence were perceived as a
general threat to Whiteness. (Abes et a., 2019, p. 127)
Invisibility
Invisibility is also an issue amongst Black women that has been explored throughout
literature. The lack of political focus and scholarly attention is given to Black girls and women
exacerbates the social, economic, and psychological disadvantages they endure. There were only
48 articles published on the experiences of Black college women included in higher education-
related, psychology and behavioral sciences publications between 1991-2012 (Patton et al.,
2016). The silencing of Black women and their experiences allows “the major economic and
lifelong obstacles that Black women face, such as limited job opportunities, lower earnings, and
disproportionate poverty, remain unaddressed” (Patton et al., 2016, p. 195). This invisibility is
also internalized by Black women. Alexander (2010) identified the internal “invisible
perspective,” as “a cluster of conscious and unconscious beliefs, expectations, and dispositions
that blocks her from achieving and succeeding in higher education” (p. 198). The invisible
16
perspective can further impact a Black woman’s self-efficacy and their decision to pursue an
advanced degree and career opportunities (Alexander, 2010).
Outsider Within
Collins (1999) introduced the term “outsider within” to identify the status of individuals
among social groups that are placed within an oppressive historical context of race, gender, and
class. She argues that these individuals, specifically Black women, develop a unique perspective
due to their experiences as outsiders within. According to Alexander (2010),
outsider within status is a special Standpoint Theory on self, family, and society for
African American women, exploring and explaining the sociological significance of three
characteristics of thought: [a] self-definition and self-valuation; [b] the interlocking
nature of oppression; and [c] importance of culture; three key themes which African
American women, as outsiders within, may draw upon to develop a distinctive standpoint
on existing sociological paradigms. (p. 199)
Johnson and Thomas (2012) argued that “Black women, more specifically Black women who are
also educational leaders, are circumstances that often demonstrate their outsider-ness through the
frequent exclusion they experience within their academic work environments” (p. 157).
The Marginalization of Black Women Professionals in Higher Education
In her essay recounting her experiences as a Black woman professional and scholar, Dr.
Jessica Williams (2021) described Black women’s plight of being successful in higher education
as conflicting because “to achieve, you have to become adept to assimilating; and despite your
best efforts, you begin to internalize a culture of beliefs you never wanted or asked for anyway”
(pp. 177–178). Black women are marginalized by the structural inequities of higher education.
When occupying senior administrative roles, Black women have negative experiences that
17
inhibit their ability to thrive in their positions (Alexander, 2010). Most literature surrounding the
experiences of Black women leaders in higher education consists of qualitative
phenomenological studies on small populations of college deans and presidents or combines their
experiences with those of Black men (Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015; Townsend, 2020).
Townsend’s (2020) phenomenological study aimed to explore the recruitment, retention,
and upward mobility of Black women in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study
was to make meaning of the professional experiences of five Black women who occupied
director-level or higher roles at public PWIs across the country using a critical race framework.
The study found that the professional inequalities experienced by the participants were heavily
influenced by a central theme of identity politics associated with their race and gender identities.
Townsend (2020) further dissected the identity politics theme into three sub-themes: Black Tax,
presentation of the authentic self, and microaggressions. Black tax was described as the
additional duties Black professionals take on by virtue of being Black. For example, Black
professionals are usually recruited to serve on additional projects or committees to provide a
“voice of color,” are the point persons for race-related issues that arise in their workspace, and
unofficially serve as mentors to Black students (Griffin et al., 2011). The presentation of the
authentic self sub-theme was demonstrated through participants’ inability to feel comfortable or
safe showing up to work as their authentic selves. The participants described feeling judged by
their choice of hairstyles, nails, clothing, tone of voice, and when they spoke at meetings, which
impacted their ability to display their identities as Black professionals. One participant recounted
her experiences of discrimination based on her hair choices who were found to be
“unprofessional” by both White women and Black males in their department. She felt pressured
to align with the Eurocentric standard of beauty that mainly regards straight hair because she was
18
coached that attaining high-level leadership positions in higher education required a certain look
(Townsend, 2020). This demonstrates how both race and gender influence the identity politics
associated with physical appearance and beauty. Microaggressions, as defined in future sections,
also negatively impacted the participants in this study and caused them to feel isolated and
devalued (Townsend, 2020).
Lloyd-Jones (2009) used a qualitative single-case study to explore the lived
experiences of an African American woman senior-level administrator in a predominantly White
research university. The subject of the study, who was assigned the pseudonym “Dr. Harris,”
recounted her experiences as an African American woman in an executive leadership position
that reported to a White male supervisor through a series of semi-structured interviews. She
reported feeling like she operated “under a microscope” at all times and that the lack of decision-
making power she held undermined her achievements as a leader. Dr. Harris provided anecdotal
data of instances where her executive decisions were overridden by her White male superiors, or
she had had negative interactions with White employees that served on her team. This study
reinforced the contradictions between the widely held achievement ideology, the belief that
anyone can achieve success through education and determination regardless of social factors like
race, class, gender, etc., and the realities of the racial and gender inequities that serve as barriers
to the success of Black women administrators (Lloyd-Jones, 2009). It also demonstrated how this
flawed achievement ideology that perpetuates social inequities also influences the leadership
structures and environments at PWIs that further disadvantage Black women professionals.
Concrete Ceiling Versus Glass Ceiling
Women have often been encouraged to break systemic barriers to upward mobility and
shatter the glass ceiling that restricted their career plight. The glass ceiling is “the invisible
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barrier hindering the advancement of women in their professional lives” (Babers, 2016). The
metaphorical idea of a glass ceiling represents a limit or barrier that is both transparent and
penetrable. However, it has been demonstrated that women of color are substantially more at risk
of facing barriers in their career trajectories that cause deceleration and stagnancy (Holder et al.,
2015). Black professionals report having to “constantly prove their ability and observe the
surprise of managers and colleagues who may have had initial assumptions about their
competence” (Sue et al., 2007, p. 271). The concept of a “concrete ceiling” has been used to
describe a more challenging, restrictive barrier toward professional advancement commonly seen
by women of color, especially Black women (Holder et al., 2015). The concrete ceiling, which is
far from transparent, represents Black women’s inability to ideate or envision their advanced
professional prospects beyond what has been systemically made available to them.
Microaggressions
Black faculty and administrators in higher education experience workplace
microaggressions based on their racial identities (De-Cuir-Gunby & Gunby, 2016). These
experiences further negatively impact their job satisfaction and overall sense of belonging (De-
Cuir-Gunby & Gunby, 2016; Alexander, 2010). Microaggressions are “brief and commonplace
daily verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that
communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or
group” (Sue, et al., 2007, p. 273). There are three types of microaggressions: microassaults,
microinsults, and microinvalidations” (De-Cuir-Gunby & Gunby, 2016, p. 393). According to
De-Cuir-Gunby and Gunby (2016), microassaults are “direct and explicit verbal or nonverbal
attacks that are intended to hurt or offend someone” (p. 393), such as the use of racial slurs or
hate symbols. Microinsults are rooted in White superiority and “are used to indirectly insult a
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person’s racial heritage or racial identity by offering a negative compliment” (p. 393), such as
calling a Black person’s speech articulate (De-Cuir-Gunby & Gunby, 2016). Microinvalidations
are “statements that belittle, challenge or negate the experiences of people of color” (p. 393), and
they are often reflections of colorblind assumptions (De-Cuir-Gunby & Gunby, 2016).
According to a qualitative study examining Black women in corporate leadership positions’
experiences with microaggressions, the “common environmental manifestation of racial
microaggressions in the workplace was lack of representation of Black women and other
minorities in senior-level corporate roles in corporate organizations where participants were
formerly or currently employed” (Holder et al., 2015, p. 168). This demonstrates that
microaggressions are more likely to occur in predominantly White spaces.
Literature has also demonstrated that minority women are significantly more exposed to
workplace microaggressions than minority men (Holder et al., 2015). Experiencing
microaggressions in the workplace has negative psychological impacts on African American
professionals and employees who experience chronic microaggressions are more likely to
experience symptoms from the following categories: “anxiety, paranoia, depression, sleep
difficulties, lack of confidence, worthlessness, intrusive cognitions, helplessness, loss of drive,
and false positives (person overgeneralizes negative experiences with others due to persistent
feelings of harassment)” (Holder et al., 2015, p. 165–166).
Black Women in Higher Education Leadership
Although there has been a perpetual increase in degree attainment and general
employment in higher education by Black women, they have been historically underrepresented
in mid to upper-management level roles in higher education, especially those at PWIs (Davis &
Maldonado, 2015). In response to the systemic oppression encountered in the workplace, Black
21
women have developed and relied on unique approaches to leadership. Black women must
employ unique leadership strategies that consider their identities along with the academic and
political culture of the institution (Townsend, 2020). Literature has demonstrated that Black
women have had to have an adaptive leadership style to assimilate or cope with the White-
centered approaches of higher education leadership. In order to thrive as leaders at PWIs, Black
women have had to develop the following skills: fluidity of perspective, reconciliation,
negotiation of power, observation in relationships, securing voice through allies, internalization,
and balancing leadership identity (Johnson & Thomas, 2012).
Chance (2022) analyzed how Black women in higher education leadership navigate their
complex experiences through a qualitative, phenomenological study that centered Black women
occupying college president, chancellor, or provost roles. This study highlighted the impacts of
stereotype threat, tokenism, limited role models, and racial adversity to understand the resilience
of Black women in higher education leadership. The themes from this study demonstrated that
Black women are motivated by the adversity they are required to overcome to be effective
leaders. Chance (2022) asserted that experiences of racism and sexism require Black women to
be strong and resilient, further preparing them for leadership.
Self-Efficacy
Bandura’s (1977) concept of self-efficacy originally was explored through behavioral
psychology as an effective influence on behavioral change. He asserted that cognitive self-
evaluation and self-motivation encourage individuals to develop standards that guide their
approaches to performance to achieve satisfactory outcomes. According to Bandura (1977),
“psychological procedures, whatever their form, serve as means of creating and strengthening
expectations of personal efficacy” (p. 193). This system of expectations shapes how individuals
22
behave and perceive their ability to achieve success. Self-efficacy beliefs also influence whether
a person will persist or cope in challenging settings (Bandura, 1977).
Self-efficacy not only represents an individual’s confidence but influences how they
behave and interact with the environment in which they are expected to thrive. In this study, the
participants’ self-efficacy beliefs will be viewed with regard to the different systems operating
within their direct and indirect environments. According to Bandura (1977), there are four
sources of efficacy expectations: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal
persuasion, and physiological states. These sources also consider the environment in which an
individual needs to meet these expectations.
The vicarious experiences of Black women in leadership positions in predominantly
White spaces heavily influence their perceptions of their self-efficacy and their ability to perform
activities that threaten their self-efficacy perceptions (Hughes, 2014). The impact of “seeing
others perform threatening activities without adverse consequences can generate expectations in
observers that they too will improve if they intensify and persist in their efforts” (Bandura, 1977,
p. 197). Occupying an environment that traditionally fosters racial and gender inequities requires
Black women to employ coping skills needed to perform and meet efficacy expectations
(Hughes, 2014). In her review of self-efficacy beliefs among Black women in leadership roles,
Hughes (2014) asserted that
American Black women too would like the experience of seeing other American Black
women succeed in leadership efforts that are threatening without adverse consequences.
This cannot occur if American Black women are not in organizations where other
American Black women are successful. (p. 57)
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Black professionals in leadership positions also use coping strategies to “protect
themselves against the humiliation, marginalization, and frustration experienced with racial
microaggressions” (p. 36) that are associated with their professional environments and can
threaten their self-efficacy beliefs (Franklin & Boyd-Franklin, 2000). To further support their
self-esteem and self-efficacy beliefs that could be diminished by racial discrimination, African
Americans in leadership roles also rely on “informal internal and external networks of
individuals who can validate the existence of racial discrimination and provide support in
diminishing the adverse impact of these experiences to one’s self-esteem” (Franklin & Boyd-
Franklin, 2000, p. 35). This intersection of identity, self-efficacy, and environment will further
contribute to the conceptual framework used to guide the present study.
Conceptual Framework
The theoretical and conceptual approaches used in this study were chosen to highlight the
intersectionality of Black women’s experiences and demonstrate that there is a reciprocal
relationship between their experiences and their professional environments. This research
acknowledges that individual identity-related experiences are integral to understanding a
campus’s diversity climate. I used an intersectional, critical race feminist lens to understand how
Black women leaders perceive their experiences in relation to their racial and gender
backgrounds. I also aim to use Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems theory to explore
how Black women in leadership at PWIs perceive the different social and professional
environments that they are directly and indirectly impacted by. This conceptual framework
centers the Black women leaders and their intersectional identities into the many ecological
systems of the PWI that may influence how they perceive their performance, leadership abilities,
and leadership approaches. See Figure 1.
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Figure 1
Conceptual Framework
Note. Adapted from “Toward an experimental ecology of human development.” by
Bronfenbrenner, U., 1977, American Psychologist, 32, 513–531 (https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-
066X.32.7.513)
Intersectionality
“The universalizing of their experience as Black or as female does little to affirm the
unique existence of Black women” (Johnson & Thomas, 2012, p. 157). It is critical to examine
the experiences of Black women, specifically, because of the uniqueness of how their identities
intersect. Black women are “theoretically erased” and their experiences should be examined
through a multidimensional framework. Crenshaw (1989) examined the intersectionality of
Black women’s experiences through the lens of legal discourse and discrimination cases. She
25
asserted that viewing the experiences of Black women the same way as you view more sex-or
class-privileges Black people contributes to the further marginalization of Black women.
According to Crenshaw (1989),
because the intersectional experience is greater than the sum of racism and sexism, any
analysis that does not take intersectionality into account cannot sufficiently address the
particular manner in which Black women are subordinated. Thus, for feminist theory and
antiracist policy discourse to embrace the experiences and concerns of Black women, the
entire framework that has been used as a basis for translating “women’s experience” or
“the Black experience” into concrete policy demands must be rethought and recast. (p.
140)
Critical Race Feminism
Critical race feminism (CRF) is “a gendered intersectional epistemology that recognizes
how race, gender, class, and other identities dynamically intersect to explain access to resources
and the reproduction of power hierarchies” (Sulé, 2011, p.143). This framework stems from
critical race theory (CRT), which centers racism as “endemic and permanent because it is needed
to maintain the current social structure” (p. 144), focuses on counternarratives of people of color
to challenge the dominant narrative present in current literature, and dispels colorblindness and
meritocracy (Sulé, 2011). CRF emphasizes the need for an intersectional lens and “analyzes the
way the “reasonable man” standard that operates in many areas of the law incorporates a White
male bias,” thus making it more difficult for a non-White woman to receive justice or equity
(Delgado et al., 2017, p. 111).
An important aspect of CRF to consider when supporting higher education administrators
of color who are women and the overall campus diversity initiatives is that it “avoids
26
essentialism or the assumption that there is a static and singular experience among women of
color (WOC) again by recognizing intersectionality” (Sulé, 2011, p. 144). The perspectives and
narratives of WOC are not to be generalized to the entire population of women across non-White
racial groups through CRF, but it is important to recognize that WOC have perspectives that are
incomparable to the perspectives of men of color and White women.
Black Feminist Thought
Black feminist thought is a critical social theory that centers the lived experiences of
Black women and their interactions with the structural and symbolic systems of oppression in the
United States (Collins, 1991). The use of Black feminist epistemology gives credibility to the
lived experiences of Black women in the United States when making knowledge claims (Collins,
1991). According to Collins (1991),
U.S. Black feminist thought as specialized thought reflects the distinctive themes of
African-American women’s experiences. Black feminist thought’s core themes of work,
family, sexual politics, motherhood, and political activism rely on paradigms that
emphasize the importance of intersecting oppressions in shaping the U.S. matrix of
domination. But expressing these themes and paradigms has not been easy
because Black women have had to struggle against White male interpretations of the
world. (p. 251)
Like CRT, Black feminist thought is a resistance strategy that will reveal institutionalized racist
and sexist practices through the expression of the everyday lived experiences of Black women.
Collins (1991) argues that Black women’s consciousness, is “the “inside” ideas that allow Black
women to cope with and, in many cases, transcend the confines of intersecting oppressions of
27
race, class, gender, and sexuality” (p. 99), provides a unique standpoint that contributes to the
counternarratives of the Black women and their positions in society.
Johnson and Thomas (2012) argued that “research has failed to fully explore the scope of
leadership development from the perspectives of Black women domestically and globally”
(p.165). Current literature in diversity leadership does not center on the experiences of Black
women professionals in higher education but consolidates their narratives with those of Black
men, so it is important to amplify the voices of Black women. The present study will utilize a
Black feminist epistemology to learn how the participants’ professional experiences as leaders in
a predominantly White setting to demystify the characteristics and experiences of Black women
that have been clouded by stereotypes.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
Understanding the environmental systems within and outside of the institution and how
they impact the overall campus climate is integral to this study. Bronfenbrenner (1977)
introduced the concept of ecological systems and their impact on human development due to the
limitations of experimental research in developmental psychology that relied on behavioral data
from very controlled environments. This theory consisted of four principal components: process,
person, context, and time (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). The ecology of human development
is the scientific study of the “progressive, mutual accommodation, throughout the lifespan,
between a growing human organism and the changing immediate environments in which it lives”
(p. 514), as well as how the immediate ecological environment is impacted by the cultural,
structural, and social systems of the broader, indirect environments in which the immediate
environment exists (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Developments in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological
model also included a heightened awareness of the characteristics of the person at the core of the
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model. Bronfenbrenner and Morris (1998) argued that the varying characteristics of the person at
the core fell under one of three domains: dispositions, resources, and demand. Dispositions
account for the force or effort an individual puts toward engaging in proximal processes, which
are the experiences and interactions with their various contexts. Resource characteristics
influence a person’s ability to effectively engage in proximal processes and can consist of
physical, psychological, or social barriers that exist between the individual and their contexts.
Demand characteristics serve as immediate stimuli to others in the environment, such as age,
skin color, gender, and race (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998).
I used elements of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory in this study to examine
the interrelationships between Black women in leadership positions and the environments
created at the PWI in which they are employed. Instead of focusing on the human development
of Black female leaders, I applied aspects of this theory to their leadership approaches and self-
efficacy. With Black women as the core of the model, I will use literature to inform their agency
within their different ecological systems as well as any disruptive external influences on their
experiences and leadership development from elements of the systems in which they occupy.
Bronfenbrenner’s original ecological systems theory consisted of five different systems of
ecological environments: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and
chronosystem. The following section will describe each ecological system and how it will be
used in the present research.
The microsystem is a developing individual’s most immediate social and physical
environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). For the purpose of my study, the microsystem consists of
the overall departmental climate and culture of the participants’ immediate work environment.
This includes the duties associated with their role as the leader and the communication styles
29
within the department, but it also includes the experiences of Black women identified by the
literature such as racial microaggressions and the lack of decision-making power. The
mesosystem accounts for the relations and interactions between the different settings within the
microsystem. The components of the microsystem act interdependently to shape the overall
culture experienced by the individual at the core of the model. In my study of Black women in
leadership, their experiences with racial microaggressions may impact how they interact with
their colleagues and/or the staff members that report directly to them. The exosystem represents
the formal and informal external contexts that work independently of the individual at the core
but influences their experiences and overall development. The elements of a PWI, the
institution’s diversity climate, and the demographic characteristics of the institution’s leaders are
significant components of the exosystem I am focusing on in my research. Bronfenbrenner
(1977) described the macrosystem as “the overarching institutional and ideological patterns of
the culture or subculture as they affect human development” (p. 527). It is important to
acknowledge that elements of the macrosystem are ever-changing. I have chosen to focus on the
societal racial climate and the place of Black women as the macrosystem in my study.
Bronfenbrenner later included the chronosystem as the fifth and final level of ecological systems
to take into account normal and major life transitions, historical events, and other elements
associated with the contextual aspect of time (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). I will not focus
on this level in the current research, but it is an important system to consider given
Utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory in the present study adds a
dimension to its intersectional approach by considering the impact of the environments on how
Black women leaders perceive or contextualize their experiences. I am interested in exploring
how my participants may internalize aspects of their environments and if their environments
30
impact how they make leadership decisions and perceive their self-efficacy.
Conclusion
Understanding the dynamics of climate and its interaction with how Black women view
their ability to thrive as leaders at predominantly White institutions is an integral factor in
furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Black women are required to “successfully navigate
culture, politics, Whiteness, and other institutions of power that seem to play against their very
efforts.” (Johnson & Thomas, 2012, p. 158). An intersectional approach to understanding and
empowering Black women in leadership will further inform institutional diversity objectives and
promote a positive diversity climate.
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Chapter Three: Methodology
As demonstrated in Chapter 1, this study will examine the experiences and perceptions of
Black women in senior administrative positions at two private research PWIs in southern
California. This chapter will focus on the research design choices and methodologies used to
investigate the following research questions:
1. How do Black women in senior administrative positions at predominantly White
institutions perceive their experiences and interactions?
2. How do the experiences of Black women in senior administrative positions shape
their self-efficacy, leadership styles, and overall perception of their effectiveness as
leaders?
3. How do Black women administrators perceive their department’s ability to achieve a
positive climate for diversity?
Qualitative Inquiry
I have chosen to address my research questions using a qualitative methodology.
Qualitative research permits the researcher to understand how participants make meaning out of
their experiences, perspectives, and feelings of the participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Using
a qualitative approach also furthers my ability to empower individuals to utilize their voices and
share their stories while minimizing the power relationships that exist between myself, as the
researcher, and the participants (Creswell & Creswell, 2013). The goal of this study was to
collect rich, narrative data from the participants that will demonstrate how they view their
experiences and the climate of the institution through the specific lenses created by their
intersectional identities.
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I specifically employed a phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of
Black women leaders at PWIs. A phenomenological study “describes the common meaning for
several individuals of their lived experiences of a concept or a phenomenon” (Creswell &
Creswell, 2013, p. 110). A phenomenological approach is necessary for the present study
because it will connect the commonalities between participants’ perceptions of their professional
experiences to elements of the campus racial climate and their identities as Black women. I used
a Black feminist epistemology to shape how I interpreted the perceptions of the participants’
phenomena. Extracting common perceptions and occurrences from the lived experiences of a
sample of Black women leaders at PWIs revealed themes related to how the campus environment
supports or inhibits Black women in leadership roles.
Sample and Population
My sampling technique included non-probability sampling because the goals of this study
do not require generalizability (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I utilized my professional networks
and online spaces (i.e. Facebook and GroupMe groups designed for Black women who fit the
criteria for my study) as pools for recruitment for my study. I also utilized a snowball sampling
method and utilize the reach of my participants’ vast social and professional networks to find
additional participants who fit the criteria of my study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In the initial
outreach to the potential participants who meet the criteria of the study, I asked them to provide
the name and contact for other individuals in their networks who may also be a good fit for this
research.
Criterion-based sampling is also a sampling technique that was used in this study because
it allows the researcher to determine the criteria for the sample based on the parameters of the
study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Criteria were determined using the university’s staff directory
33
as well as each participant’s self-identification of their racial and gender backgrounds. The
following criteria guided the purposeful sampling method used in this study:
1. The participant identifies as Black or African American.
2. The participant identifies as a woman or as female.
3. The participant currently occupies a director, dean, provost, or president position at a
predominantly White university in the United States. This includes those with an
assistant, associate, or vice-dean, provost, and president positions.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Through email and social media outreach, I recruited 11 participants who met the criteria
outlined in the previous section. In this initial outreach, I asked potential participants to confirm
that they meet the criteria for the study and provide their consent to participate. Once they
confirmed, I conducted individual semi-structured interviews with each participant. The
interviews were each one hour in length and conducted virtually via Zoom due to the current
COVID-19 health conditions. I recorded the interviews using the Zoom software and the
recordings are securely stored in a double-authenticated, password-protected online drive.
The interviews were guided by an interview protocol that began with background
questions about the participants’ academic and professional histories, followed by a series of
open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of their institution’s racial and professional
climate, and ended with questions that required participants to reflect on their identities as Black
women in predominantly White spaces. The semi-structured format of the interview left space
for probing questions and encouraging participants to share further examples to provide a richer
set of data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Data Analysis
34
The data analysis process was a continuous process that was interwoven within my data
collection, as I utilized field notes and reflective memos during and after each interview. This
allowed for some preliminary data analysis where I was able to identify significant quotes or
areas that needed further clarification from the participants.
The Zoom software used to record the qualitative interviews transcribed the interview
data. I then reviewed the data for accuracy. The data analysis process continued with
horizontalization, where I reviewed the transcriptions and identified significant quotes or
statements that align with elements of the conceptual framework outlined in Chapter 2. Using an
a priori coding method (Lochmiller & Lester, 2017), this data was sorted into themes that align
with the following aspects of my conceptual framework: campus climate, self-efficacy, and
leadership approaches. From these statements, I identified clusters of meaning and themes to
further contribute to an overall textural description of the experiences of Black women leaders in
their predominantly White institutional environments (Creswell & Creswell, 2013). These
themes informed the phenomena that encapsulate the experiences of Black women leaders.
Role of the Researcher
In this qualitative study, I acknowledge my role as both the researcher and the research
instrument and understand how my positionality can enable my subjectivity regarding the
experiences of Black women in higher education. I am a new higher education professional at a
predominantly White institution used as a setting for this study who is not affiliated with the
departments in which these administrators lead, so the power dynamic between myself as the
researcher and my participants lies solely in how I choose to interpret and understand their
experiences. As the researcher, I have the power to decide how each participant’s story is
constructed and represented. My identities as a Black woman in higher education also require me
35
to reflect beyond the fact that they align with the identities of the participants. According to
Milner’s (2007) framework on researcher racial and cultural positionality, it is important that I
reflect on how my positionality is impacted by political, social, and contextual factors, and how
that further impacts how I interpret the data. Through this type of reflection, I am also required to
acknowledge that although I share identifying characteristics with the population I have chosen
to study, I should actively work to be conscious of any bias or generalizations I may impose on
my participants.
Trustworthiness and Credibility
Qualitative research methodology relies on the assumptions and perceptions of both the
researcher and their participants shaped by the worldview and positionality of the researcher, so
it is important to consider the trustworthiness and credibility of qualitative studies. I aimed to
maximize credibility and trustworthiness by framing my research questions with selective
subjectivity, incorporating regular researcher memoing and reflection into the data collection and
analysis processes, and utilizing member checking by engaging the participants throughout the
process (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). When developing the interview protocol, it was important
that I did not ask leading questions that would indicate either positive or negative racial or
professional experiences, so I utilized selective subjectivity when conducting interviews and will
allow the data to influence my approach to the analysis (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The use of
member checking, or respondent validation, when analyzing the interview responses allowed me
to better engage with the data collection process and strengthen the credibility and
trustworthiness of my study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This required research participants to
actively participate in the analysis portion of my study to shape how their stories have been told
and provide clarity as to how they intended to be represented.
36
Limitations and Delimitations
A limitation associated with qualitative studies is that they do not yield generalizable
findings and cannot be replicated, but the goal of this study is to make meaning of the
experiences of the participants within their specific social and environmental contexts. The
findings of my study will not represent the experiences of all Black women at the institution of
focus and there may be variability among the experiences of those from other racial, gender, or
professional backgrounds at the institutions of focus. I chose to focus on Black women in
leadership roles at predominantly White universities in the United States due to the ongoing
discussions and strategic plans surrounding diversity and inclusion practices at these specific
institutions. I acknowledge that their experiences will not represent those in other positions,
geographic regions, or types of institutions.
The delimitations of this study were chosen to highlight a population of higher education
professionals that are not vastly represented in the literature. A qualitative approach using open-
ended interviews was chosen to amplify the voices of Black women at PWIs and allow them to
shape their narrative from their various perspectives. I will design and administer this research
under the assumption that the women who have agreed to participate in the study view race and
gender as salient factors of how they construct their realities and perceive their experiences. I
have chosen to focus on the experiences of Black women, specifically, due to the extensive
research surrounding Black men in higher education contexts and the minimal focus on Black
women in positions of power.
Ethics
I am a new professional at one of the institutions of focus with a similar ethnic
background as my potential participants, so I am conscious of the possibility that they will
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choose to participate in my study due to some informal professional obligation. My role as a
member of the same institution could potentially coerce them into participating in my study. To
limit this ethical factor, I must be explicit about my sole role as a researcher and make sure that
potential participants understand that their participation is completely voluntary. I maintained
boundaries in the relationships I created with the participants of my study, which would reinforce
the consensual nature of their participation (Glesne, 2011). Participant privacy is also important,
especially since my interview and survey questions require my participants to be honest about
their departmental climate. To avoid this ethical dilemma and protect the participant’s ability to
remain secure in their work environment, I was sure to use fictitious names and descriptors when
writing up data shared in interviews (Glesne, 2011).
Since I engaged participants in conversations about sensitive racial topics, I also think it
is important to provide background information and warn participants about potential triggers
consistently throughout the data collection process. My interview questions did not directly aim
to evoke any traumas, but I cannot lead my interviews with the assumption that my questions
will not cause harm or fatigue to my participants.
Conclusion
This chapter emphasized the necessity of a qualitative methodological approach when
studying the intersectional experiences of leaders from multiple marginalized groups. The data
collection and analysis procedures described in this chapter will inform Chapters 4 and 5 where I
present and analyze the qualitative data collected in this study.
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Chapter Four: Data Analysis
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the complex experiences of Black
women in professional leadership roles at predominantly White institutions. This study was
guided by a conceptual framework that utilized Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to
analyze the impact of each participant’s campus and departmental environments on their
experiences as a Black woman in leadership. The framework also relied on critical race feminism
and Black feminist thought epistemologies to identify the unique, intersectional experiences of
Black women in predominantly White spaces. Through a series of eleven qualitative interviews,
I aimed to answer the following research questions:
1. How do Black women in leadership positions at predominantly White institutions
perceive their experiences and interactions?
2. How do the experiences of Black women in leadership positions shape their self-
efficacy, leadership styles, and overall perception of their effectiveness as leaders?
3. How do Black women in leadership roles perceive their institution’s ability to achieve
a positive climate for diversity?
This chapter will first provide an overview of the participants’ descriptive profiles to
provide context for the themes presented in the following sections.
Participant Profiles
To answer the research questions, I interviewed 11 participants who self-identified as
Black or African American women and currently held a leadership role at a PWI. This section
will provide an overview of the background and institution of each participant, which is also
outlined in Table 1. I will refer to each participant using their assigned pseudonym as listed in
Table 1.
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Table 1
Participant Overview
Participant pseudonym Title Functional area
Alicia Assistant dean Enrollment management
Brandy Senior executive director Student affairs
Diamond Director Academic advising
Elyse Vice-president Enrollment management
Jamie Director Student affairs
Kennedy Associate vice-president Student affairs/Campus Wellness
Linda Director Career development
Maya Director Enrollment management
Raquel Director Academic advising
Taylor Associate dean Student affairs
Tasha Senior vice-president Student affairs
Alicia
Alicia currently serves as the assistant dean at a science and engineering school at a
regionally accredited university in the Southeast. She described herself as the only Black woman
in leadership at the university. Alicia leads a team of three and oversees advising, curriculum,
programming, and campus relations. She is currently balancing her professional role and
completing her PhD.
Brandy
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Brandy serves as the senior executive director of graduate programs in a professional
school at a large, private Research 1 university on the west coast. She is an alumna of the
university and has worked at the university for over 20 years. Brandy has a vast knowledge of
departmental operations and has served in many positions at the school before her time as senior
executive director. She leads a team of two and works in enrollment management, admissions,
scholarships, and programming.
Diamond
With backgrounds in both science and education, Diamond serves as the director of
student services in a science department at a public, research university on the west coast. She
leads an academic support services department and a team of professional advisors, mental
health counselors, and program coordinators. She balances her work in bringing equitable
support services to the sciences with her role as a mother.
Elyse
Elyse serves as the vice president of enrollment management at a large, urban, private
Research 1 university on the west coast. She operates as what she referred to as an “island of
one,” but frequently collaborates with senior leadership in almost every other division on campus
to create and reform admissions and enrollment practices.
Jamee
Jamee is a young professional who identifies as biracial and navigates both her Black and
Filipina identities. She serves as the director of student affairs in a professional school at a large,
public Research 1 university in the Northwest. She has climbed the ladder in her department,
serving at almost every level before becoming a director. She leads aspects of academic affairs,
student services, career development, and engagement for graduate students at her institution.
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Kennedy
Kennedy’s public health background has led her to serve as the associate vice-president
of health and well-being at a large, research institution in the Midwest. She oversees a team of
six to support health equity initiatives on her campus. She also balances her leadership role with
her work as an adjunct faculty at another university.
Linda
Linda serves as the director of career development at a “free-will” Baptist university in
the Southeast. She operates as a team of one to plan and implement career development
programs for undergraduate and graduate students at her institution.
Maya
Maya is the director of the enrollment management division of a small historically
women’s college on the west coast. She is charged with making sense of enrollment data to
inform admissions and recruitment practices. She is also balancing her role as a new mother.
Raquel
Originally from the east coast, Raquel is the current director of advising and student
services at a public 4-year research university in the south. She leads a team of six student
services professionals and balances her role with her work as an independent consultant.
Taylor
Taylor serves as the associate dean of experiential learning at the liberal arts college of a
large, private research university on the west coast, where she has worked for more than 30
years. As a double alumna of her university, Taylor has built strong internal and external
partnerships that support her work in fundraising and leading a team of 11 to create experiential
learning opportunities for students.
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Tasha
Tasha currently serves as the senior vice president of student affairs at a public PWI in
the Midwest. She described herself as being the highest-ranking person of color on her campus
and the first Black woman to occupy her role. She oversees three associate vice presidents.
Findings for Research Question 1
The first research question aimed to describe the environmental systems, structures, and
interactions through the lens of Black women in positions of power at their respective
institutions. As demonstrated in the conceptual framework introduced in Chapter 2, I used an
adapted version of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to understand the experiences of
the participants in relation to the contexts of their institutional environments. Figure 2 represents
the themes and sub-themes I have identified for this research question organized into an
ecological model to emphasize the differences in participants’ experiences across contexts.
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Figure 2
Research Question 1 Themes
I identified themes that spoke to the core experiences of Black women in leadership that
interact with the contexts within each ecological system using a critical race feminist lens to
begin my analysis. The following themes explore the experiences and perceptions of the
participants that are directly related to their identities as Black women and the different
contextual components of working at a PWI: Black women in the workplace, microaggressions
and assumptions, institutional DEI initiatives, representation of Black women in leadership, and
regional experiences.
Black Women in the Workplace
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When asked about their experiences at PWIs, many of the participants reflected on
aspects of their identities as Black women and how they are expressed and perceived within their
work environments. Of the 11 participants, five reflected on their ability to be their authentic
selves in predominantly White spaces, revealing that it took years to develop the level of comfort
and safety in their self-expression that they exhibit in their current roles. Jamee, for example,
reported that she is always “a shade of herself” in her work environments after having to learn
how to authentically express her identities at work and in her leadership role. Two participants
discussed their appearances (hair and attire), communication styles, age, and body type as means
for judgment in their current and past work environments.
Alicia’s experience moving into her role as an assistant dean in an academic affairs
department came with some adjustments to her physical appearance and communication style to
feel more comfortable. When asked about her transition into her current role, she used her hair,
styled in neatly plaited locs, as an example. Alicia commented, “like this started [points to hair in
a natural style] is like as of two years ago. But I always wore my hair straight and I only spoke
when I was directed, like asked a specific question. I was very conservative in terms of my
opinions, my professional opinions.” She continued to describe navigating being a Black woman
in higher education as,
sometimes you don’t address things that you know need to be addressed because you
think about the implications of it. You think about how it is gonna be viewed, how
someone can misinterpret it, or how you are just made out to look like you are being too
assertive. Or you are made out to look like you are aggressive when you are just being
assertive.
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Her identities require her to be cautious and restrictive in her self-expression and
communication.
Though Maya works at a women’s college, she expressed feeling challenged because of
how her colleagues perceived her age and race. According to Maya,
It’s just a real challenge to be heard and be seen and be respected. And both because of, I
think because of all three: my age, my gender, and my race and the interconnected,
intersectionality of all three, and who you are and what you’re seen as when you walk
into a room.
She also described the expectation of women appearing happy and jovial as a burden: “But you
know, I’ve definitely been in offices where people have said things like, ‘because they don’t
smile a lot, they’re not happy,’ but like I’m fine, I am not gonna smile, just to make you happy.”
Kennedy’s experiences as an executive-ranking leader in the student affairs/student
wellness space have been tinged with negative perceptions of her weight and southern dialect by
her colleagues. There were also stories of positive means of self-expression among the
participants. Kennedy recounted feeling like a spectacle when proudly sporting her bright-
colored business suits and elaborate hair and makeup but is proud of her take on professionalism.
“And so, do I wear business suits? Yes. But you’re gonna see me in some colors, they’re gonna
see my hair switching up, I’m gonna have a full beat face, I still show up with all my personality
and all of my glory.”
Raquel’s overall confident demeanor has been misperceived by her staff and colleagues,
but she demonstrated pride in her self-expression and level of confidence. She spoke about her
transition into her current institution and how she feels she has been received, commenting, “I
don’t sound like the other Black people that they encounter. That’s the first thing that throws
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them off. I’m from the north. So, this is how I dress. Call me extra.” Her persona is bright and
unapologetic, and she acknowledged that it is “very difficult to take the light I give off. When I
walk into a room, and I look, I’m not dimming my light for you, you’re gonna have to adjust
your eyes to this.” The participants’ constant negotiation of how to present as their authentic
selves in predominantly White spaces also revealed the following subthemes that spoke to the
experiences of Black women in the workplace: exhaustion and the need to mask.
Exhaustion
The participants in this study reflected on the exhaustion that comes from being Black
women in predominantly White spaces. Jamee expressed experiencing emotional fatigue from
the pressure of being comfortable and leading in a White space. When asked about being a Black
woman in higher education, Jamee reported that “it has gotten so exhausting to be in this space
that it was more tiring to try to be something that fits into White spaces than it was to just show
up and be me.” Conversations with White colleagues who are confronted or held accountable by
students for perpetuating racism also add to Jamee’s exhaustion as a Black woman in leadership.
Her role requires her to negotiate the feelings of both her colleagues and of students who feel
like they are not receiving equitable support from her colleagues. Jamee reflected on this
experience noting, “I had to process like, what does it mean for me to be here right now, in this
space, knowing how fragile my White coworkers are, but how hurt my students of color were?”
The constant battle to prove their competence and make their voices heard was also a
contributor to the overall exhaustion felt by five of the participants. When asked how she
believed her professional climate made her feel about her work, Kennedy commented on
struggling to be heard and empowered. She described her experience with this level of
exhaustion as “on the surface, we are present and speaking up. Also, on the surface, we’re
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present and being silenced. And our power is being diminished so there’s a constant fight almost
to prove that, you know, more than the next person.” After working in the same department for
more than ten years, Brandy also recounted her need to prove herself and her skills as a Black
woman in comparison to her White counterparts. When reflecting on her long tenure at her
current institution, Brandy stated, “I do feel that I have to prove myself first, before being given
probably the benefit, or the respect that others would have received day one, just because of who
I was and who I am.”
When asked what it means to be a Black woman in higher education, Alicia summed up
the experience as,
Being a Black woman in higher education means that you are expected to excel, even if
you are given a disproportionate amount of resources. Being a black woman in higher ed
means you have to think extra before you say what you need to say. Being a Black
woman in higher ed means sometimes you question whether or not your contributions are
valued. Being a Black woman in higher ed means sometimes you don’t address things
that you know need to be addressed because you think about the implications of it. You
think about how it is gonna be viewed, how someone can misinterpret it, or how you are
just made out to look like you are being too assertive.
The Need to Mask
With experience and maturation, the need to use code-switching strategies regarding their
language, appearance, demeanor, and communication diminished for most participants.
However, four of the participants reflected on their need to continue to mask their true opinions,
skills, and level of confidence as they navigated the race/gender-influenced power dynamics of
the professional higher education space.
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Alicia navigated the transition into her current role by altering her appearance and
sometimes concealing her opinions to avoid dissent from her colleagues and leadership. When
asked about presenting her authentic self in her department, she stated that she used to always
wear her hair straight and only spoke when she was directed. “I was very conservative in terms
of my opinions, my professional opinions,” Alicia mentioned. However, as she became more
comfortable in her abilities to perform the duties associated with her role, she slowly was able to
shed the mask she relied upon in the beginning. Alicia can now present herself, physically and in
interactions, with confidence and sureness. She is comfortable breaking the traditional, White-
centered image of professionalism and can now confidently communicate her decisions and
feedback to leadership.
Raquel has also found herself strategically masking her true level of skill and confidence
when working with others at her institution to avoid being viewed as a “threat” to their authority.
She recounted a time when she was called upon to speak at a listening session with the
university’s executive leadership, commenting, “so then I end up explaining, and then I forgot to
act like I wasn’t confident. Because that is the thing that intimidates them the most. And when
you do that, with a certain level of confidence, and surefootedness, you become a threat.” Raquel
made an important distinction regarding her approach to masking, commenting that she has
chosen to lead by consensus rather than over asserting her authority and creating a divisive
environment. Taylor also briefly commented on how she must incorporate elements of masking
and being overly mindful of her tone in her communication to internal and external university
constituents. Taylor stated, “as an African American woman, I always felt like I needed to have a
filter and to think, before I say, or write things.”
Microsystem: Departmental Climate and Everyday Interactions
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This section explores the participants’ perceptions of the experiences and interactions in
their most immediate environment-their professional department. The analysis of how each
participant experiences their departmental climates yielded three main themes: dealing with
assumptions and microaggressions and the support and trust they receive from leadership.
Microaggressions and Assumptions
Seven participants recounted experiencing racial and gender microaggressions from other
staff and campus partners that whom they regularly worked alongside. Many also reported
instances where assumptions were made about their identities, role, and decisions that
demonstrated the implicit biases held about Black women, despite their roles as leaders.
Alicia recounted her numerous encounters with microaggressions at her current
institution. One instance she mentioned specifically was an interaction between her and an
administrative assistant, a White woman, when Alicia misplaced her car keys. After some
diligent searching, Alicia described the interaction,
Then she said, in her Mississippi accent, ‘so they found a key fob but it is to a Mercedes
and I said what would she be doing with a Mercedes key fob?’ At the time, I knew it was
a microaggression, so I said ‘what do you mean by that?’ So, she repeated it and someone
else said ‘what do you mean by that? She can drive any car that she wants.’ And she said
something to the effect of, ‘well I am an old woman and I can say anything as long as I
say it with a smile.’ And I said ‘no, you cannot say anything you want. You don’t have
the right to say things like that and you should be mindful when you speak.’
As off-putting as the comments made by her administrative assistant were, Alicia still accepted
the responsibility of correcting her to hopefully create a teachable moment out of the situation.
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Raquel described her cross-cultural interactions with other staff at her institution to be
influenced by her race and gender. She noticed that “people really can’t hide the dissonance that
you see going on in their head. The first thing is, I don’t sound like the other black people that
they encounter. That’s the first thing that throws them off.” She commented on the dissent from
her colleagues and the constant interrogation of her authority, connecting it to the underlying
racism at her institution. When reflecting on working to develop her department, Raquel
asserted, “I have the context and the history to make this move forward. But what they don’t
have is the normalization of authority in an African American female’s voice.”
Maya recounted experiences where her neutral facial expressions led to assumptions
about her overall demeanor. She stated, “but you know, I’ve definitely been in offices where
people have said things like, ‘oh, because they don’t smile a lot, they’re not happy.’” This
assumption is demonstrative of the general expectation for women to smile, despite the
circumstances, and Maya refuses to comply with this standard. She also reflected on the
assumption that she is a “safe Black woman” because of her upbringing and vernacular. When
reflecting on how her intersectional identities were perceived, Maya mentioned,
I’m a Black woman who sort of came up in suburbia. And, you know, I talk a certain
way. And I think that oftentimes, and I felt this at different institutions at different times,
that people often see me as, in some ways, like this, safe Black woman, that they’re not
gonna offend really easily, which that’s not true.
Maya believes that this assumption by her colleagues has influenced how comfortably they
communicate and interact with Maya through colorblind lenses.
Uncomfortable Conversations and Interactions
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Feelings of overall discomfort in interactions with colleagues from different ethnic and
gender backgrounds were an emergent theme among the participants. Three participants paired
their experiences with microaggressions with the general feelings of discomfort from their non-
Black colleagues. Avoidant behaviors, unintentional cringeworthy language, and fear of
confrontation were present in these participants’ White colleagues. Raquel recounted an
interaction with a faculty member, stating,
I had one professor whose eyes kept darting back like this and really couldn’t look at me.
And I’m like, “What the heck, why is she so uncomfortable?” But when someone’s
noticeably uncomfortable, I’m not going out of my way to make them comfortable. I try
and meet them where they are and be as uncomfortable as they are. So that we end up at
the same place together sometimes.
In her work of creating an equitable student services department for science students,
Diamond has also described some uncomfortable conversations when communicating with some
non-Black campus partners. Diamond highlighted that many of her colleagues approach
conversations about diversity and equity with good intentions, but struggle with the appropriate
language to identify oppressed groups. Diamond reported,
They’re well-intentioned, but still somewhat dangerous, depending on the language they
use. For instance, my direct supervisor, I was talking to her about increasing the number
of Black students on campus. We have less than 3 percent of our students that are Black.
And she told me, ‘Well, Diamond, the Blacks don’t want to come here!’ I just cringed at
how she said it.
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Diamond’s approach to these uncomfortable conversations demonstrates her commitment to
being a change agent. She reported being comfortable confronting and correcting inappropriate
language or other forms of subtle disrespect from her colleagues.
Jamee’s experience with cross-cultural communication in her department also
demonstrated that her non-Black colleagues seemed too uncomfortable or fearful of having
certain conversations with her. She also noticed tension in communication between a colleague
who is a White woman and other women of color in their department. She described feeling
aggression and belittlement from this White colleague, commenting
And it just became this moment of like, oh my gosh, you’re always going to act that way.
So long as I have these lower positions, like, so long as I’m younger, so long as I’m like,
the only person of color that’s like, in some mid-level role here.
The tension between Jamee and the White colleague suddenly disappeared when Jamee was
promoted to be a director in their department.
Exosystem: Predominantly White Institution
The participants also described their experiences in their roles given the context of their
current institutions. Two themes that represent the participants’ perspectives of their campuses’
diversity climate and how that influenced their overall experiences emerged from the research:
the institutional DEI initiatives and the representation of Black women in leadership at their
institution.
Institutional DEI Initiatives
Ten of the 11 participants identified specific university initiatives that aim to promote
racial equity for students and staff that impact their perception of the institution’s diversity
climate. These strategies included the combination of one or more of the following: the
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appointment of a university president who puts DEI issues at the core of their work and/or
occupies one or more marginalized groups, the use of a climate survey to inform DEI practices,
reformed hiring practices to increase diversity in leadership and staff, and the creation of spaces
specifically designed to support students and staff from underrepresented groups. Five of the
participants described their university’s DEI efforts as superficial, performative, transactional, or
challenging. Alicia stated,
Superficially, it is what people are comfortable with seeing, but if you have conversations
with people of color that were on campus, they are very clear about the level of upset,
disappointment, and unequal opportunities for growth that are presented.
She also mentioned that she has never seen meaningful data come from the many climate and
experience surveys that have circulated across the university.
Jamee described her institution’s commitment to diversity and inclusion to be very
intentional and conscientious, but almost exhausting. She commented,
I think we make a lot of statements around racial equity, and racial justice as an
institution, and I do think we care. That is what I genuinely believe, like, there’s heart in
this, which is why people [in this area] really hate getting it wrong. And they’re so fragile
around it.
The appointment of a queer Latinx president, a vice-president of minority affairs, the use of an
external consulting firm to facilitate their campus climate survey, and the commitment to
transparency seems to be authentic, but, according to Jamee, “what we all knew was that the
campus climate survey was gonna say that our students and our staff and our faculty don’t feel
welcome here.”
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Three participants gave credit to their institutions’ progress toward addressing issues of
racial and gender equity. Elyse specifically chose to take on the role of vice-president at her
current institution out of awareness of the “burgeoning issue” of racial inequities throughout the
university and her goals to make an impact. Although due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Elyse
began her work in the central administration of her current institution virtually, she described her
perception of the university’s work toward targeting inequities in access and enrollment as “front
and center.” She rapidly became an administrator who was charged by students and staff to
uphold the university’s commitment to DEI issues. She recounted, “Some of the earliest reach
outs that came to me were issues associated with what I would describe as, you know, kind of
racial and social justice, climate concerns, issues around affordability issues around access.”
Elyse’s institution had also recently concluded a national search for a vice-president of diversity,
equity, and inclusion. She commented that the university’s effort in addressing climate issues
“represents that space of a fairly new reckoning of a changing climate and racial/ethnic climate
interaction on campus.”
As another leader in the central administration of her institution, Tasha also lauded her
institution and its leadership for working to confront DEI issues but is concerned that their
efforts are not reaching the students as much as they could. She commented,
I think the staff and the faculty here and administrators of color, you know, we’ve done a
really good job, it’s more of the students and I wish I had this magic button to figure it
out, I can’t really do it. But there’s got to be a way that we engage with people.
Diamond and Taylor also observed the disconnect between the institution’s attempt to
address racial equity on campus, her perception of the institution’s efforts, and the experiences of
the students. Diamond reflected,
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The climate overall on campus has been thoroughly welcoming, inviting, and open since
I’ve joined. And I hear that that is not the same experience for a lot of our students,
though. And I don’t know why that is. I often asked myself, ‘Why am I getting these
interactions when I’ve been told that a lot of our Black and brown students on campus do
not view us as a very diverse, inclusive, or welcoming community?
Taylor described feeling like she had been in a bubble after hearing about students’ experiences
amid her institution’s appearance to be making strides toward racial equity.
Representation of Black Women in Leadership
The scarce number of Black women in senior ranking positions at PWIs was also a theme
that represented aspects of the participants’ exosystems. Two of the participants described
themselves as being the highest-ranking Black woman or person of color at their institution.
Seven described themselves as being one of few Black women in their department or division.
Alicia specifically stated,
I am the only Black woman in leadership at the university. We have one other Black
faculty member who is the CBA, she’s leaving. And then we had another Black woman
who was a vice president and she left over a year ago. … So, the three of us came
together as the trio of Black women in leadership roles, and two of them are gone. They
have not replaced any leadership with a Black woman.
Three of the participants discussed the rapid turnover of Black women in leadership roles
at their institutions. Raquel commented on the lack of retention of Black women in leadership
roles at her institution. She listed several Black women she saw come and go, highlighting the
most recent interim department chair’s exit, “well, how long is she gonna be interim before you
give her the job? Gone.”
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Kennedy opposingly praised her institution’s efforts toward recruiting Black women to
leadership roles. She commented on the growing representation of Black women and women of
color in leadership positions at her institution, which is a result of an increasingly diverse
executive leadership team. Kennedy reports to a senior vice-president of student life, who has
demonstrated a strong understanding of the value of diversity in leadership. Kennedy stated,
“She’s brought me on, our director over HR is a Black woman, our director over inclusion and
belonging is a Black woman, our director over advancement is a black woman. … And so, we’re
seeing shifts in pockets happening across campus.”
Macrosystem: Regional Experiences
With participants’ institutions varying in locations in different states across the country,
some experiences represented the influence of the regional and geographic context. Three of the
participants whose universities were situated in the south or southeast commented on the
influence of their region’s historical presence of racism and racial oppression. For example,
Raquel commented on her experience at her southern university as heavily influenced by state
politics, outdated and problematic concepts of professionalism, and, to her surprise, the feeling
of competition within the Black staff. She recounted,
I’ll be honest with you, the people who’ve taken me the most to HR look like me. Really
interesting when we think we have to fight one another. … Never was I ever competing
against my own. Never, but I find in the South, that’s all they do. Because they think the
pie is, what the White people say, it is only so big, only so much. Or, you know, there’s
so little room at the top, both of us can’t be there.
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Participants from more progressive areas of the country also reflected on their regions’
influences on their institutional experiences. Jamee, a leader at a public institution in the
northwest, commented on the unique racial climate of her region,
but it is a city that likes to proclaim progressiveness, but also refuses to elect the kind of
people that would create progressive action. So, we are like this incredibly mild, overly
polite environment. We don’t want to act like we are racist about certain things. So, it’s
very subtle. It’s not like the south where it is like, in your face, we’re racist. It’s more of
the like, I’m gonna make this kind of side comment to you, that doesn’t imply that I have,
like, a belief that you’re less than, but a piece of me might.
She also observed that “people [in her region] are always trying to police themselves around
race,” and hate getting it wrong, but it generally seems to be with good intentions.
Tasha’s institution is located in a midwestern state that is heavily influenced by state
politics. She described her institution as “this little blue in this weird red state that used to be
purple and also used to be blue.” Though the state has such a conservative influence, Tasha
prided her institution on its ability to detach itself from many of the oppressive ideals the state
perpetuates to create its inclusive community. She felt that, because of the location of her
institution, she had to be aware and knowledgeable of how the political context influenced the
experiences of students on her campus.
Findings for Research Question 2
The second research question aimed to explore the experiences of Black women in
leadership positions that shape their self-efficacy, leadership styles, and overall perception of
their effectiveness as leaders. This section will explore the theme of self-efficacy through an
understanding of the support and trust the participants’ received from their leadership and their
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overall confidence and perceptions of their confidence. I will also explore the participants’
approaches to leadership through the following subthemes: self-preservation and the sense of
responsibility they carry to serve as advocates for Black students and staff.
Self-Efficacy
Each of the eleven participants demonstrated confidence in their professional
competencies and place in their leadership role. This confidence was demonstrated in the
validation and support they received from their leadership as well as their overall feelings of
achievement and potential for further achievement in their roles.
Support and Trust From Leadership
The participants reported receiving different levels of support from direct supervisors and
executive leadership at their respective institutions. Four of the participants associated the level
of support they received with how well they were able to perform in their roles. Some
participants felt empowered, protected, and supported by their campus’s leadership, while others
felt that they would feel more comfortable making decisions in their role if they had blind
support from executive leadership.
Diamond’s experience with her leadership has been positive and reinforced her
confidence in her ability to succeed in her role. She stated,
My leadership is incredibly supportive. Whenever I have an idea, they’re trusting me,
they’re like, okay, run with it. If I really believe it’s best practice, they hear me out. And
it’s interesting because my dean and my associate dean are both older White people.”
Tasha’s support from her university’s president has allowed them both to develop an
interdependent partnership, which is meaningful to Tasha. She reflected, “I’ve been fortunate to
develop a very strong relationship with the President. And I think that that is why I am
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succeeding in this position to be quite honest, that I have established a unique level of trust with
her.” Tasha values how she and the President have similar perspectives on diversity, equity, and
inclusion that enable her to make a sincere impact on the campus.
Linda attributed some of the success she has experienced in her current role to the feeling
of being valued and trusted by their senior vice president. She described the senior vice president
as “an ally and a sponsor for brown and Black people.” When asked about her perception of her
performance, Linda also referenced the relationships she has been able to build with her campus
partners. “I know that I’ve been extremely effective, and the reason why I say that is because
I’ve had an opportunity to establish and build strong rapport within all levels of the institution,”
Linda mentioned.
Alicia’s perception of her ability to perform effectively in her role was heavily impacted
by the departure of her first supervisor, the college’s dean, and the changes brought by their
successor.
When reflecting on her first supervisor, Alicia stated,
My dean made it very clear that if Alicia was asking for something, I am asking for
something. We need to support her. That dean is no longer here. Things have changed,
and when that change was implemented, the current dean was asked to let me go.
She also described feeling restricted under her new leadership and commented,
I can advocate for my staff and my students and I feel empowered to do that only because
we have the financial resources, but I’ve also not taken on several issues that I know
would improve student outcomes because I don’t have that same level of support.
Confidence and Competence
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The participants were asked about their perception of their performance and competence
within their professional roles, and all of them expressed general confidence and satisfaction
with their work. Seven participants also shared that, though they felt confident in their role, there
were many areas where they felt that they could improve upon or advance. Diamond reflected on
how proud she is of her work at a PWI as a Black woman,
but when I’m at a predominantly White institution, to be a Black woman in a mid to
senior-level role, it feels very good. I take a lot of pride in that. Because I do look around
and I know there are not many people that look like me in those roles. And I hope to be
able to maybe climb the ranks a couple more notches to continue to bring people that
look like me into different spaces.
Jamee also expressed feeling proud of her accomplishment in this role and beyond, commenting,
“I’m so proud of everything I do. And I know I’m always going to be good. Like, I’ve got this.”
Others expressed enthusiasm and readiness to continue their growth as leaders and in
their roles. Elyse reflected on her first year in her role as vice president and identified the
welcomed challenge of bringing equity to enrollment management,
I have a lot that I hope to be able to accomplish, you know, kind of here in that vein, the
whether or not I’m able to do that will be dependent on campus climate, on other
leadership, on this cultural shift that’s happening inherently…but, you know, there’s
always some resistance to it. Just some of the challenges associated with being a private
PWI with the history that it has, you know, and so, and I love that type of stuff.
Tasha also demonstrated confidence and satisfaction with her current work but also showed
excitement for what the future holds for her. She stated,
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Am I getting a good zone? Absolutely, I’m in this thing, you know, I’m rocking and
rolling, I feel like I know what I’m doing. I know the players and the cast of characters
and, and all that kind of stuff. I know how to get what I need. And so, but I always feel
like there’s more.
Maya spoke highly of her performance in her current role but prioritizes growth as a
measurement of effectiveness and competence. She spoke about widening her reach as a leader,
noting that, “as the world changes almost daily, or weekly, there are ways to reach out to other
people in the community, as a leader, that I think I just haven’t personally mastered.”
Approaches to Leadership
The participants were asked how they intentionally approach their professional roles
considering the climate of their PWI. The following subthemes emerged: lead with empathy,
self-preservation, and sense of responsibility.
Lead With Empathy
Three of the participants described their leadership approach as empathetic and people
centered based on their desire to create positive work environments for their staff despite their
negative experiences in their predominantly White contexts. Raquel described her use of
transparency and “leading by consensus when possible.” She believes that this approach
demonstrates her respect for her team and her goal to “function as one” when making decisions.
She also described being extremely flexible when her team encountered personal challenges, and
even attended the funeral of one of her staff member’s late husband to show her support.
Diamond attributed the empathy and empowerment she gives to her staff to the
empowerment she feels from her own leadership. Diamond stated,
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I also try to lead with a lot of empathy and understanding because of the power that has
been given to me by my leadership. For instance, instead of bringing my team back 100
percent in person, as this pandemic has progressed, I negotiated hybrid schedules
permanently for my office.
She negotiated these changes because she values being trusted by her team and takes her
obligation to advocate for them very seriously. When asked about her approach to leadership,
Taylor also emphasized the need to lead with kindness and empathy. She mentioned, “I’ve
always tried to go out of my way to be a kind, friendly, person of integrity. I never wanted
anyone to be able to say that I didn’t do a good job and wasn’t successful.”
Self-Preservation
Another significant sub-theme that was identified through this research was the self-
preserving strategies the participants embedded into their everyday work. These strategies were
utilized to preserve the participants’ wellness, energy, and overall morale while leading in
predominantly White environments. When asked about her approach to leadership at her
institution, Raquel emphasized taking care of herself physically and emotionally. She is also
strategic in her participation in charged conversations, especially when she is the only Black
woman in the space. She commented, “I don’t always need to speak up, because I’m not going to
waste my energy, I need to determine where I’m going to do that.”
Alicia also is mindful of her workload and has learned to carefully “choose her battles” when
encountering conflict in her professional environment. She commented on the need to conserve
her energy when considering adding responsibilities to her workload, based on the varying levels
of support she received from her dean. She stated, “there’s so much more I could do. I have left
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things to be done... I have given that before...I gave it and it didn’t yield the type of reward that I
thought I should have been getting.”
Jamee has taken a more direct approach of dealing with the stresses of being a young
woman of color in leadership at a PWI. She isolated time during the workday to decompress
from the negative aspects of her work environment. She relied on this time heavily when she and
a White woman in her department were at odds. She stated,
one thing I developed when I started working at the university was what I would call my
reparations hours. And so, if a White woman got on my nerves for a degree of things, you
know, I’d be like that equals one hour. And I just leave, like, I would just put something
on my calendar, and I would just leave, and I would come back when I thought my
reparations hour was done.
Jamee also is very transparent in her email communication and away messages when she was
emotionally impacted by racism that occurred on her campus or the broader community. She
found it important to inform her team of the weight of racism on her mental health and how it
impacts her ability to perform in her professional role.
Kennedy’s self-preserving approach to leadership was an internal strategy. She discussed
her reliance on her faith when feeling challenged at work or when she is questioning her place at
the institution. She reflected,
but I tell you, the biggest thing I use is my faith. The sermon is everything. When
something don’t feel right, I go with it. But I will tell you the gift is also what has gotten
me through, since I’ve been here in the hot seat, where I’ve had to turn back around and
have some very tough conversations with my staff and with my directors.
Sense of Responsibility
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Six of the participants described feeling a sense of responsibility to advocate for other
staff and students of color when operating as a leader on campus. Many described intentionally
making themselves visible and reachable to Black staff and students, even if it is outside of their
regular professional duties. Kennedy described her commitment to formally and informally touch
base with her staff of color on a regular basis. She recounted, “in counseling, we just hired five
African American women and I intentionally met with all of them before break, asking ‘what’s
up? ‘How y’all doing? Do you want to talk?’” She feels that this targeted outreach allows her to
keep a pulse on her team members to adequately support them and retain them. She added,
I’m very intentional about not just bringing them here like I was brought to campuses but
making sure they’re okay. And I think a piece of that is while I’ve had Black bosses, they
were always afraid to meet outwardly on campus, with me and others to support us. Not
me. I’m gonna bring my staff of color together. I am intentional about meeting with the
Black women separately, because that is a completely different population.
Maya also discussed her need to serve as a mentor and resource to Black students and staff, even
though she does not regularly work directly with students. When asked how her institution’s
racial climate shapes her approach to leadership, Maya stated,
I think for me, it shaped how I reach out to students and how I talk to students and who I
choose to mentor. And not formally a mentor, I wouldn’t say. I think of the wave that
most Black people do, right, when you see someone in your community who looks like
you, you try to make sure that you connect with them in some way. And so, for students,
I think that’s been something that I actively tried to do. As I see them around campus,
making sure that I stop and say, ‘Hey, how’s the semester going?’ or ‘What classes are
you taking? And who’s your advisor? And are you struggling?’
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Elyse aligns her need to advocate for the next generation of students and professionals of color
with aspects of her own identities and experiences as a Black woman. She commented,
I think it’s the welcomed kind of burden of taking lived experiences and transitioning
them to, you know, educating and changing the opportunities for those coming behind
you. I mean, that’s kind of the biggest piece of it, you know, is that I’ve lived a very
particular, specific kind of life that’s been informed by my identity and where I’ve come
from and that enables me to change trajectory and opportunities for others who look like
me and interact with people like me. In a world in which I exist, differently, I think that’s
the biggest, the biggest responsibility.
Tasha also reflected on her innate need to advocate for Black students and families in her role.
When discussing how she supports Black students within and outside of her professional role,
she mentioned, “it’s self-imposed. There’s nobody putting it on me, it’s myself. I carry a burden
or responsibility for making sure that the students who look like me make it through. And it’s,
it’s primarily because there’s so few of them.”
Findings for Research Question 3
This section will explore the participants’ perceptions of their institution’s ability to
achieve a positive climate for diversity. They were asked what their institution needed to do in
order to make them feel comfortable, respected, and empowered within their roles. The themes
that emerged were the need to formalize strategies that promote diversity in leadership and to
respect the work done to further equity.
Formalized Strategies to Promote Diversity in Leadership
Five participants referenced the need for their institution to take more formal approaches
to promote diversity in leadership and overall equity on campus. Formalized approaches were
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defined as hiring leaders from diverse backgrounds, allocating funding toward the professional
development of staff of color, mandated engagement across the campus, and better use of data
from climate studies.
Kennedy discussed the actions her institution is taking that gives her the impression that
they are moving in a positive direction regarding its’ diversity climate. Her university’s
president, who happens to be a woman who identifies as LGBTQ, has made commitments to
diversify their staff and Kennedy has already seen movement toward this goal. She commented,
“she’s just being open with it. And then with the new program, which is focused on hiring 500
minoritized or marginalized faculty, you’re seeing it. It’s not lip service.”
Maya’s perspective on her institution’s ability to create a positive diversity climate
focused on supporting women of color. She stated that
it would be nice to be an institution as a woman, particularly to be a leading institution,
that says, we are going to invest in our women of color. We’re gonna try to keep them
here or we’re gonna try to support them leaving, you know, and we’re gonna find ways to
invest in them.
She described investing in women of color as providing access to tuition remission programs for
every staff level and formalizing mentorship programs for leaders of color.
Jamee also expressed the need for funding employee groups for marginalized populations
that also focus on their professional development. She recounted,
we have these employee groups, like essentially, like how businesses have employee
resource groups, but there’s barely any funding behind any of them. And so, we can get
together and we can go to happy hour and pay for our happy hour. But it’s not the same
as being like, we want to specifically provide professional development funds to you as a
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community, we want to give you all the resources to be successful, we want to give you
all the resources so you can find each other and want to stay on this campus.
She also commented on increasing the representation of Black staff on her campus, “you just got
to hire more of us. … The first couple years, when it was just me and then they let go of the
Black man. I was like, why would you do that? He was my person.”
Taylor and Tasha both emphasized the need for engagement opportunities amongst
students, faculty, and staff. Taylor reflected on the voluntary DEI workshops her school offered
for faculty and staff that always yielded a low turn-out with little opportunity for genuine
engagement. She mentioned, “if there was some way of getting people to know each other to
work together instead, because when you have these kinds of events, more than likely, the people
that come care enough, most of them don’t.”
Respect the Work
An emergent theme among a few participants was the need for their leadership to
understand and respect the work that they do. This was defined as buying in to the proposed
strategies and efforts of Black women in leadership and trusting them to execute their work in
alignment with the mission and values of the university. Elyse spoke of trusting people who were
empowered and sought to do the work. She commented,
I think the biggest piece is respecting the work. And in the end, the person or the entity
doing the work, you know. Then allowing decisions to be made. And that is probably
consistent across the board, right? Letting those the best decisions be made by those
people who were best, identified to be able to make those decisions.
She also stated that “what an institution needs to do is establish strategy, establish direction,
establish values, goals, you know, all that kind of stuff. And then let people go get it done.”
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Diamond expressed that she is unsure if her leadership is aware of the depth of the equity
work she does in her role. She said,
My leadership makes me feel like the quality of my work is good, but sometimes I worry
if they’re really tapped into my work all that much. Or if they just trust me so much, that
they just know work is getting done, because they don’t necessarily challenge my work.
They don’t set the goals for me. I tend to set my own benchmarks and my own goals.
Without her leadership being aware of the specific actions she takes to bring equity to their
environment, Diamond worried that their basis for success was simply knowing that things were
getting done.
Summary
The first research question aimed to explore the different environmental systems of the
participants’ institutions and how they perceived them through their lenses as Black women. The
findings demonstrated that the participants’ experiences of exhaustion and the need to mask
occurred among their experiences in their predominantly White work environments. The second
research question addressed how their experiences at their PWI impacted their self-efficacy and
approaches to leadership. The findings showed that the participants demonstrated high levels of
confidence in their abilities to perform their work duties and used self-presentation, advocacy,
and empathy as leadership strategies. The third research question gauged the participants’
perceptions of their institution’s ability to maintain a positive diversity climate. The study
yielded that the participants believed that their institutions needed to employ more formalized
DEI strategies to create a positive climate for diversity.
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Chapter Five: Discussion
The conclusion of this study takes place during a significant time in history for Black
women. The first Black woman to serve as a United States Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji
Brown Jackson was just confirmed after being subjected to one of the most significant
confirmation hearings in history. As the first Black woman to be nominated to serve on the
Supreme Court, Judge Brown Jackson was required to participate in an absurd line of
questioning that challenged her intelligence and was loaded with implicit bias. However, Judge
Brown Jackson was lauded for her maintenance of composure, professionalism,
and accomplishments that made her the most qualified nominee to date. Despite her
qualifications, Judge Brown Jackson faced racial and gender discrimination throughout the
confirmation hearings. However, she maintained her composure and addressed each threat to her
intelligence with sharp, accurate responses, all in the presence of her daughters who beamed at
her admiringly throughout the hearings.
Judge Brown Jackson’s experiences in the confirmation hearings represented the
continuous battle of Black women in power-yielding professional positions in predominantly
White spaces. They must fight to counter stereotypes and assumptions, prove their competencies
despite meeting the qualifications, and serve as role models to upcoming generations of Black
students and leaders (Sue et al., 2007). As institutions of higher education work to create positive
diversity climates and inclusionary practices, it is critical that they amplify the voices of the
power-yielding, yet marginalized, professionals that contribute to the diversity of the institution.
The purpose of this study was to explore Black women in leadership’s perceptions of
their experiences and interactions within the contexts of their predominantly White institutions.
This study also aimed to uncover how their experiences within PWIs shape how they approach
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their professional role and how they view their competencies as leaders. Finally, this research
explored necessary actions institutions should take to create positive climates for diversity
through the lens of Black women in leadership.
This qualitative study relied on interview data collected from eleven Black-identifying
women who occupy leadership positions at PWIs in various regions of the United States. It
incorporated the use of an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems theory and
was approached through a Black feminist epistemology. The following sections will provide
discussions of the findings for each research question. I will then discuss the implications of this
study to higher education research and provide recommendations for practice.
Contextual Experiences of Black Women in Leadership at PWIs
The first research question aimed to explore the participants’ experiences and interactions
in their departments and overall institutions through a Black feminist lens. The participants’
experiences were universally influenced by their core, identity-related experiences as Black
women and how they authentically present their identities. The first theme, Black women in the
workplace, spoke to the core experiences of Black female professionals in higher education. The
subthemes that emerged from my analysis of Black women’s identity-related experiences in the
workplace were exhaustion and the need to mask.
Black Women in the Workplace
The Black women in the workplace themes serve as the core to this study’s adaptation of
Bronfenbrenner’s model. They represent the participants’ perceptions of elements of their
identities that interact with the microsystems, exosystems, and macrosystems identified in this
study. Specifically, the characteristics of Black women in predominantly White workplaces
represent the demand characteristics, the participants’ race and gender, and how they influence
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how others interact with or perceive them (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). Understanding each
participant’s agency within their racial and gender identities in their workspaces provided
context for understanding their departmental and institutional experiences.
Presenting as their authentic selves in their workplaces came with some extra baggage for
the participants in this study. Participants described dealing with the work required to adjust their
appearances and communication styles to make everyone else in the department feel comfortable
and to not appear threatening. Five participants recounted experiences where they struggled with
comfortably dressing and wearing their hair as they wished in professional spaces, which is
something White women and men generally do not have to confront.
Exhaustion was attributed to the mental and emotional fatigue associated with existing as
a Black woman in a predominantly White environment. Feelings of exhaustion did not only
occur within their current departments and/or institutions. Participants described these feelings as
being prevalent throughout their careers in higher education. This overall exhaustion stems from
carrying the burden of unofficial duties associated with being a Black woman in higher education
spaces such as educating colleagues, advocating for students, and constantly working to prove
themselves. Jamee described feeling exhausted from serving as the obligatory spokesperson for
Black experiences in her department and juggling her identities as a biracial, young woman in a
space where she was the only one.
The need to mask was another significant sub-theme that spoke to the participants’ core
characteristics. The participants described employing behaviors that masked their true opinions,
dispositions, and overall characteristics as leaders. Masking was used to avoid conflict, dissent,
and to combat their statuses as outsiders. Alicia described feeling the need to sometimes mask
her true feelings about a professional matter to maintain positive relationships with her
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supervisors and colleagues. She also relied on masking elements of herself early in her career to
better embody someone who represented White-centered principles of professionalism. She
intentionally wore her hair straight and spoke in cautious, neutral tones before she felt
comfortable presenting as her authentic self. Raquel also battled with feeling the need to mask
her true level of confidence and surefootedness to appear less threatening and intimidating to her
colleagues.
The findings for this research question were consistent with Townsend’s (2020) analysis
of the identity politics experienced by Black women in administrative roles in higher education.
The Black Tax theme Townsend (2020) explored represented the additional burdens of balancing
their identities as Black women in White spaces, serving as the representative for all minorities
on university committees, and having a sense of responsibility toward Black students in staff that
follow them. Masking strategies were employed to combat the feelings of the outsider within
status discussed in Chapter 2. Collins (1999) defined this status occupied by individuals who
come from historically marginalized racial, gender, and class backgrounds and possess unique
standpoints based on their experiences with oppression.
Microsystem, Exosystem, and Macrosystem
Their experiences within their microsystems, which was defined as their immediate
professional environments, were influenced by the occurrences of microaggressions,
assumptions, and overall uncomfortable conversations. Microaggressions in the workplace occur
at a higher rate in predominantly White spaces (Holder et.al, 2015). Three of the participants
recounted of incidents where colleagues used microaggressions to imply or assume inferiority
and make communication more difficult. They described interactions with colleagues that
revealed the implicit biases held about Black women. The microaggressions discussed by the
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participants implied that Black women are assumed to speak a certain way, maintain a pleasant
facial expression, or are incapable of affording a luxury vehicle. Cross-cultural communication
within the participants’ departments was generally described to be uncomfortable based on the
use of outdated language to describe Black people, the nervous body language of their non-Black
colleagues, or the overall feeling of tension with non-Black colleagues. The use of
microaggressions and assumptions in predominantly White spaces does not always indicate anti-
Black or anti-woman beliefs but are usually rooted in colorblind assumptions (De-Cuir-Gunby &
Gunby, 2016).
These experiences occurred in the context of their macrosystems, which were defined by
their institutional diversity initiatives and the low representation of Black women in leadership
roles at their institutions. Hurtado et al.’s (1998) four dimensions of institutional diversity
climate, historical, structural, behavioral, and psychological, were explored as participants
described their campuses’ racial climates. The first dimension, historical legacy, was explored
through the regional experiences associated with the institutions’ geographic locations. For
example, southern influences on Alicia and Raquel’s campuses intensified their experiences with
racism and microaggressions. Tasha’s experiences on campus were impacted by the institution’s
location in a politically split state that traditionally held extremely conservative beliefs. Raquel,
Maya, Taylor, and Tasha’s institutions also were described as being led by their first female
presidents. This also spoke to their institutions’ historical legacy of male leadership. The
structural dimension was explored through the overall low representation of Black women in
leadership roles at each participant’s institution. The behavioral dimension of climate was
explored through the participants’ experiences with microaggressions, discomfort, and
assumptions in their interactions with colleagues at their institutions. Finally, the participants’
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psychological climates were described through their impressions of their institutions’ approaches
to diversity, equity, and inclusion. While Diamond, Elyse, and Linda spoke positively about the
strides toward equity their institutions were making, Alicia, Kennedy, and Jamee were more
critical of their institutions’ blanket diversity initiatives.
Approaches to Leadership and Self-Efficacy
With the contextual knowledge established by the first research question, the second
research question aimed to explore the participants’ self-efficacy and approaches to leadership
given the contexts of their PWIs.
Self-Efficacy
When asked about their self-efficacy and perception of their professional competencies,
each of the participants expressed strong confidence in their abilities and performance in their
roles. For Diamond, Linda, Kennedy, and Alicia, these feelings of confidence were reinforced by
the support and praise they received from their supervisors and university leadership. Brandy and
Taylor had been climbing the leadership ladders in their departments for many years, making
them both feel extremely confident in their job performance.
The sub-theme that emerged when exploring the participants’ self-efficacy was the
support and trust received from their supervisors and executive university leaders. This served as
a strong contributor to the positive self-efficacy beliefs of four participants. These women felt
most confident in their work when also feeling empowered and protected by those who supervise
them. Diamond’s belief in her effectiveness and overall competencies as a leader was
strengthened by the positive feedback she consistently received from her supervisors and
colleagues. Positive feedback was delivered to Diamond in communication and was further
demonstrated by her being nominated and selected for a university distinguished staff award.
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Kennedy and Linda spoke about the relationships they had been able to develop with executive
university leaders through the quality of the work they each produced. They both described
feeling confident and reinforced by these sincere, balanced relationships that were grounded in
how their work aligned with the overall university.
In addition to mastery or achievement, an individual’s self-efficacy is strengthened by
receiving positive feedback. Bandura (1977) described verbal or social persuasion as one of the
four sources of self-efficacy. The participants’ who received verbal or social recognition for their
work in their professional roles were able to speak confidently about their abilities due to the
consistent source of persuasion coming from leadership.
The strong level of confidence demonstrated by the participants, especially those whose
confidence was reinforced by support from their supervisors, is not something we see in
literature surrounding Black women in leadership at PWIs. Lloyd-Jones’s (2009) case study
following the experiences of Dr. Harris, a Black female administrator at a large, research PWI,
provided insight on how not receiving support and recognition from leadership could impact a
Black administrator’s self-efficacy. Dr. Harris felt that her achievements in her role were
undermined and deemed them ineffective based on the lack of trust and power her supervisors
bestowed on her (Lloyd-Jones, 2009).
The participants demonstrated high levels of self-efficacy despite some of the negative
racialized and gendered experiences that informed the themes that emerged from Research
Question 1. Their consciousness of and resistance toward their oppressive work environments
aligns with Collins’s (1991) Black feminist though epistemology. Collins (1991) asserted that
Black women have a unique standpoint based on their intersectional identities that enable them
to not only be aware of systemic oppressors that do not impact their White or male counterparts,
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but further their ability to exist and thrive despite their negative experiences serves as a type of
resistance to the oppressive systems. The self-efficacy and overall confidence demonstrated by
the participants in this study reflect Black women’s refusal to be complicit with victimhood or
passivity when faced with oppression.
Leadership Approaches
Black women take unique approaches to leadership at PWIs to help them navigate their
identities, Whiteness, power imbalances, culture and politics (Johnson & Thomas, 2012).
When asked about how they approach leadership in the contexts of their PWIs, the participants
revealed some of the adaptive strategies they have adopted that align with their identities and
institutions. The following sub-themes emerged when discussing the participants’ specific
approaches to leadership: leading with empathy, sense of responsibility, and self-preservation.
Lead With Empathy
Three of the participants described their leadership style as empathetic. They centered the
feelings and experiences of their staff and students when making leadership decisions. Diamond
employed this strategy to serve as a source of empowerment and support for her team. Raquel
found it important to lead by consensus to show her team that she valued their contributions and
place in the department. Taylor’s approach to leadership relied on kindness, integrity, and
maintaining positive relationships. These participants demonstrate understanding and flexibility
to create positive departmental climates for their staff and students.
Sense of Responsibility
Many of the participants described feeling responsible for providing unique types of
support and mentorship for Black staff and students. While some described their practices of
incorporating unofficial forms of advocacy for Black staff and students into their leadership
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approaches as welcomed, voluntary efforts toward serving their cultural community, it is
important to acknowledge the invisible labor that comes with these practices. Townsend (2020)
found a similar theme in their study of the career trajectories of Black women in higher
education, identifying this obligation as the Black Tax. The Black Tax described the unofficial
duties of Black women professionals at PWIs, including their obligatory roles as representatives
for Black voices on institutional committees and mentors to the Black campus community
(Griffin et al., 2011; Townsend, 2020).
Despite the weight associated with the Black Tax defined by recent literature, the
participants in the present student voluntarily embedded mentorship and advocacy into their
work with hopes to further strengthen their campuses’ diversity climates and improve the
campus experiences of Black students and staff that follow them. The will to serve the next
generation of Black students and staff was integral to the participants’ approaches to leadership.
For many of them, this will to serve derived from critical reflection of their own experiences as
students, professionals, and leaders in the higher education system. This study demonstrated that
Black women are conscious of their positionalities as Black leaders when crafting their
leadership identities at PWIs.
Self-Preservation
Self-preservation as a leadership approach was a theme that was not well-represented in
leadership. Four of the participants described using self-preservation strategies to maintain their
wellness and overall energy. Raquel expressed the need to protect her physical and emotional
wellness by eliminating stress and refusing to internalize negative experiences that occur in her
work environments. Alicia described how she liked to be very selective about the workload and
chooses her battles when faced with dissonance. This allows her to preserve and protect her
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energy, since she had experienced burnout before. Jamee’s reclamation of her time was also an
effective self-preservation strategy she practiced, especially during times of social unrest
surrounding incidents of racism in the United States. She introduced her “melanin hours” after
the trauma following the murder of George Floyd that emotionally impacted Black people across
the nation. She does not provide explanations for the time she takes to preserve her mental and
emotional wellness, especially since it does not interrupt her efficiency in her role as director.
Kennedy described using her faith and spirituality as a self-preserving strategy that puts into
perspective the alignment of her work and religious identity. She uses her faith to reaffirm her
purpose and maintain her morale during challenging times.
The participants in this study had to adapt their leadership styles to reconcile the
inequities within their contexts and maintain their peace and power.
According to Johnson and Thomas (2012),
Negotiating environments, cultures and climates, and political structures is necessary to
obtain power in their work lives. Prevalence of racism, sexism, incivility, or even perhaps
gender violence in higher education institutions, make reconciliation and negotiation
efforts difficult. These efforts, however, are vitally important to Black women’s career
mobility. Furthermore, persistent occurrences of inequity become an informing lens for
Black women to attempt to maneuver through structures of power in their academic
environments. (p. 165)
This reconciliation and negotiation with their predominantly White environments also allow
Black women in leadership to maintain autonomy and agency within their roles.
Formalized DEI Strategies and Respecting the Work
79
Based on their leadership experiences, the participants asserted what their institutions need in
order to create positive climates for diversity. The two emergent themes for Research Question 3
were: formalized strategies to promote diversity in leadership and respect the work.
Formalized Strategies to Promote Diversity in Leadership
Five participants identified gaps between their institutions’ diversity missions and the
tangible steps their institutions are taking toward promoting equity and inclusion. Those who
spoke positively of their institution’s ability to achieve a private climate for diversity described
their university’s efforts as being more than publicly published statements or strategic plans. The
five participants who were critical of their institution’s approaches toward creating a positive
diversity climate identified specific actions that would make their perceptions of their diversity
climate more positive. Kennedy and Maya recommended that their institution invest in their
women of color in the form of more robust tuition remission benefits for all staff, including those
who work in support, maintenance, and auxiliary services. On their campuses, support staff roles
are more heavily occupied by women of color but their tuition remission policies do not
encompass all staff. Investing in their education would create a clearer leadership pathway for
those occupying support positions on campus.
Formalized engagement opportunities for faculty and staff were also described to be more
effective than climate studies and listening session. Jamee recommended that her university
sponsor special interest professional development organizations for Black staff. She asserted the
need to not only build community amongst Black staff, but to support their professional
development through conferences, networking opportunities, and workshops. Taylor also
mentioned formal opportunities for staff to engage as a community and build relationships in
both social and professional settings.
80
All of the strategies recommended by the participants require the institution to allocate
funding and develop equity initiatives with intention. Dowd and Elmore (2020) identify resource
allocation as a trust-building behavior from the institution. Instead of paying for external climate
evaluators and consultants, using funding to elevate and promote community-building and
professional development opportunities for minoritized faculty and staff would allow them to
trust their institution’s ability to create positive climates for diversity.
Respect the Work
Two of the participants spoke of their institutions’ need to demonstrate a sincere level of
respect and investment not only in them as leaders, but in the work that they do as well. These
participants expressed that receiving support and trust from leadership had a positive impact on
their self-efficacy but believed that a deeper understanding of their work would better strengthen
the diversity climate of their departments and institutions. Diamond mentioned feeling respected
and trusted by her dean, but also wondered if the dean was truly aware of the work she was doing
and how she wanted to impact her campus. She remains committed to using equity-minded
practices toward strengthening the climate of her college but can only hope that her leadership
also aligns with the work she is doing.
Elyse also called on her institution to demonstrate respect for the work as well as the
person making the decisions that further the work. In order to support change agents in
leadership, institutions must authentically entrust the leader and align with the mission of their
work. With buy-in serving as such a significant contributor to enacting change toward a positive
campus climate, it is important that executive leaders demonstrate sincerity in their support of
Black women’s initiatives to advance equity (Dowd & Elroy, 2020).
Implications for Practice
81
Higher education institutions across the country have made public commitments to
diversity, equity, and inclusion, vowing to increase the diversity of faculty, staff, students, and
administrators. While there is a slow increase in the representation of women of color in higher
education leadership, these administrators still face inequities that impact their social and
professional experiences (Johnson & Thomas, 2012). Black women, specifically, occupy a
unique place in higher education administration due to their intersectional identities and the
inequities they experience are heightened when serving at predominantly White institutions. As
Black women disrupt the homogenous leadership structures in institutions of higher education
through their authentic approaches to leadership and management, colleges and universities
should move to creating more positive climates for diversity where Black leaders are able to
make a true impact on their campuses.
Institutional diversity agendas should evolve to create space for the voices and unique
practices of Black women in leadership. The following sections will discuss the
recommendations for leadership practices to support diversity and inclusion of the intersectional
experiences of Black women. Then, I will provide recommendations for future research that
could further enhance the scope of diversity leadership and creating positive climates for
diversity.
Recommendations for Practice
As institutions continue to work to amplify the voices of marginalized staff and leaders, it
is important that they reevaluate the leadership frameworks used to inform their efforts of
creating equitable spaces. Considering the themes revealed in this study, my recommendations
for practice are as follows:
82
1. Employ the use of revolutionary leadership models in predominantly White
institutions of higher education.
2. Invest in Black women leaders and their work.
3. Build robust leadership pipelines for staff of color to continue to increase
representation.
Revolutionary Leadership Models
Higher education institutions have relied primarily on top-down leadership models that
do not account for the voices of students, staff, and mid to senior-level leaders (Kezar, 2012).
Top-down leadership strategies create a values-neutral paradigm that neutralizes diversity and
inclusion to include everyone, instead of recognizing and highlighting the differences that occur
across intersecting identities (Chun & Evans, 2018). Chun and Evans (2018) argued that “when
diversity includes everything, it can serve as a smoke screen that masks power differences
between dominant and nondominant groups and fails to address historic barriers to inclusion” (p.
30).
In order to increase equity on predominantly White campuses and encourage change,
leadership frameworks should center collaboration and interconnectedness instead of relying on
the authoritarian models traditionally used in higher education structures. Chun and Evans
(2018) described revolutionary models of leadership to “recognize the multiple, intersecting
identities of leaders that occur within a particular context and the ways in which power dynamics
have pervaded that context based on culture, history, and social structure” (p. 58). Pluralistic and
culturally responsive leadership models were described to align with the objectives of
revolutionary leadership. Pluralistic leadership models are shaped by institutional contexts and
disseminate the hierarchical leadership structures seen in top-down approaches. Culturally
83
responsive leadership models consider the positionalities of those who occupy leadership roles,
cultural differences, and inequitable power dynamics established by social and historical contexts
These models allow institutions to detach from the traditional White male-centered approaches to
decision-making and emphasize collaboration and learning across power levels (Chun & Evans,
2018). Culturally responsive leadership, as it pertains to the experiences of Black women in
higher education, should especially occur in the recruitment and evaluation processes of
professionals of color. When recruiting Black leaders, institutions should work to understand
their values and subjective experiences and how that contributes to their leadership approaches.
During performance evaluations of Black leaders, institutions should incorporate any feedback
on the departmental and campus climate into policy decisions, professional development
approaches, and staff recruitment strategies. Black leaders, especially Black women, should feel
safe when communicating their experiences and secure in the fact that their institution’s
leadership will develop specific approaches toward creating a positive climate for Black
professionals.
Empower and Invest in Black Women Leaders
The second recommendation encourages institutions to invest in Black women by giving
them the proper professional titles and adequate amount of decision-making power necessary for
them to excel and feel competent within their roles. People of color who occupy leadership
positions are more likely to be given titles that include “assistant” or “associate” as descriptors,
even when their workload aligns with more advanced job titles (Valverde & Castenell, 1998). In
addition to giving them the proper titles that further empower them to lead authentically,
institutions should not put Black women in leadership to serve as channels for the majority’s
perspectives. Participants in the present study felt limited in their professional achievements and
84
ability to enact change when they felt that they held no power to make decisions on behalf of
their department. It is also important not to tokenize Black women in leadership roles to flaunt
the institution’s leadership diversity and implicitly maintain the status quo (Alexander, 2010).
Leadership Pipelines for Staff of Color
Although we have seen an increase in representation of staff of color in leadership roles
in higher education (Valverde & Castenell, 1998), it is integral that institutions formalize a
pipeline for staff of color. This pipeline should target staff of color in entry level roles and aim to
nurture their professional skills, embrace their differences in perspectives and identities, and
embed in them the leadership competencies that align with the institution’s mission. A leadership
pipeline should clearly identify the competencies and experiences required to be considered for
promotions to higher level positions within the university. This would encourage timeliness and
equity when considering staff of color for advanced roles. By creating more opportunities for
growth for staff of color, PWIs can continue to strengthen their diversity climate by diversifying
the staff in their departments to address some of the isolation felt by individuals like the
participants in this study.
Recommendations for Future Research
In order to continue to amplify the voices of the historically marginalized in higher
education leadership, I recommend the following areas for further research:
1. While this study utilized an adapted version of Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological
system theory, I excluded the analysis of the chronosystem. The chronosystem
represents sociohistorical and temporal contexts that surround an individual’s
development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Replications of the present study should
include a contextual analysis of significant demonstrations of anti-Blackness in
85
society, such as the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, or the impacts of
the global COVID-19 pandemic.
2. The majority participants in this study held professional roles in student affairs.
Further research could compare the experiences of Black women in student affairs
roles to those of Black women who hold faculty positions.
3. The participants in this study identified behaviors and initiatives that would increase
their institutions’ abilities to create positive climates for diversity. An action-research
study applying the recommendations of both the participants and the research could
further literature on climate studies and organizational change.
Conclusion
Black women in leadership roles at predominantly White institutions have experiences of
inequality that “reflect historical legacies of exclusion” and are compounded by their converging
identities within marginalized groups (Chun & Evans, 2018, p. 30). Leadership theory research
does not recognize the differences in experiences of historically marginalized leaders thus
making the application of these theories impossible for Black women. The purpose of this study
was to analyze the perspectives and experiences of Black women to understand their unique
approaches to leadership and the significance of place, context, and navigating intersectional
identities. It also aimed to identify areas within their institutional diversity climates that
reproduce inequities. This study revealed that, despite the perceived levels of power in Black
leaders at PWIs, experiences with racism, microaggressions, and unbalanced power dynamics
impact the way Black women lead and perceive their place at their institutions. This research
further emphasized the need for institutions to provide robust support to Black women and other
marginalized populations to enact change toward maintaining positive diversity climates.
86
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Appendix A: IRB Information Sheet
INFORMATION SHEET FOR EXEMPT RESEARCH
STUDY TITLE: Leading from the Margins: Exploring the Perspectives of Black Women in
Leadership Roles at Predominantly White Institutions
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Toni Richardson
FACULTY ADVISOR: Patricia Tobey, Ph.D.
You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything that is unclear to
you.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to examine the perspectives of Black women in leadership at
predominantly White institutions. We hope to learn how Black women leaders perceive the
campus diversity climate of the institution, their self-efficacy, and their leadership styles.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
Participants are asked to participate in a 60-minute interview to be conducted via Zoom. This
interview audio will be recorded and stored in a password-protected drive,
If you decide to take part, you will be asked to confirm that you meet the criteria for the study
and sign up for an interview slot using my Calendly link.
PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
You will receive $10 Amazon or Starbucks gift card for your time. You do not have to answer all
the questions in order to receive the card. The card will be given to electronically after you have
completed the interview.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable
information will be used.
Recordings and transcriptions will be stored in an online, password protected Google drive. They
will be labeled with pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of the participants.
93
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Toni Richardson (tonirich@usc.edu) or
Dr. Patricia Tobey (tobey@usc.edu).
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email
irb@usc.edu.
94
Appendix B: Outreach Email
I hope you are doing well. Thank you for reaching out and being willing to participate in my
study! I would love to schedule a 60-minute Zoom interview with you as your schedule allows).
Here is a link to my Calendly https://calendly.com/xxxxxxxx, which highlights some of my
availability. To be as flexible as possible, I added times that were during the workday and after
hours/during weekends to try to accommodate your preference. If none of these times work for
you, please let me know and I will work on some alternative times.
Some things to note prior to our Zoom meeting:
• This interview will be completely confidential. You are welcome to do your Zoom in
whichever space feels comfortable and private for you. You will also be able to create
a pseudonym/fake name to protect your identity and the things you share during the
interview.
• The interview may take the full 60 minutes, but it could also be less than that.
However, I will never go over the 60-minute mark to make sure I am respecting your
time.
• The Zoom interview will be recorded, but that is so that I make sure I capture
everything you will be sharing.
Please take a look at the attached informed consent sheet to learn more about the study, overall
confidentiality, and about your right to withdraw from the study at any time. Please review the
document, but also know that I will go over it briefly prior to our interview. You do not need to
sign it, a verbal confirmation during our meeting will work just fine.
Thank you again and please let me know if you have any questions!
Take care,
Toni Richardson, Ed.D Candidate 2022
USC Rossier School of Education
95
Appendix C: Interview Protocol
I will begin this interview with some general questions about your background and
current professional role.
1. What is your professional title and institution type?
2. Walk me through a regular day in your position. Describe the duties associated with
your role.
3. How would you describe the organizational structure of your department? Probe:
Who do you report to? How are decisions made?
The following questions will be in reference to the climate of your campus and
department. When I speak of climate, I am referring to “experience of individuals and groups on
a campus—and the quality and extent of the interaction between those various groups and
individuals.”
4. How do you perceive the racial climate at your institution?
5. How has the racial climate at your institution shaped how you choose to lead in your
professional role?
6. How do you view cross-cultural communication in your department? (Probing points:
are you comfortable communicating with non-Black staff and leadership? Is
communication difficult? Easy?)
7. How does your professional environment (colleagues, executive administrators, office
culture) make you feel about the quality and/or effectiveness of your work?
8. What action would your institution need to take to make you feel comfortable,
respected, and empowered in your role?
96
I am now going to ask a few questions about your identity as a Black woman in your
professional space.
9. What does it mean to be a Black woman in higher education?
10. How comfortable do you feel being your authentic self in your department?
11. How do you feel people view your identities as a Black woman?
12. If you could read the minds of your non-Black colleagues, what do you think they
think when you communicate a leadership/management decision?
13. How satisfied are you with your effectiveness and overall performance as the leader
of your department? Do you feel competent in your role?
Closing
Thank you for your responses. This concludes our interview and I thank you again for
participating in my study. Do you have any questions for me?
Again, I really appreciate your insight and it will be very helpful to my study. If I happen
to have any follow up questions, is it okay if I contact you via email?
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Appendix D: Theoretical Alignment Matrix
Research question Theoretical framework Data
instrument
questions
1. How do Black women in leadership positions
at predominantly White institutions perceive
their experiences and interactions?
Ecology systems theory
(Bronfenbrenner, 1977)
Black feminist thought
(Collins, 1991)
Interview
questions: 1,
4–8
2. How do the experiences of Black women in
leadership positions shape their self-efficacy,
leadership styles, and overall perception of their
effectiveness as leaders?
Self-efficacy
(Bandura, 1977)
Black feminist thought
(Collins, 1991)
Interview
questions: 9–
13
3.How do Black women in leadership roles
perceive their department’s ability to achieve a
positive climate for diversity?
Ecology systems theory
(Bronfenbrenner, 1977)
Interview
questions: 4–
8
Background questions
Interview
questions: 1–
4
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Appendix E: A Priori Coding Sheet
Table E1
Codes for RQ 1
Code Description of theme Subthemes/categories
Black
womanhood/challenges/identity
Persona and appearance: colorful,
confident, unapologetic, space
claiming, natural hair, weight,
attire
Exhaustion Overall exhaustion stems from
carrying the burden of unofficial
duties associated with being a
Black woman in higher education
spaces such as educating
colleagues, advocating for
students, and constantly working
to prove themselves
Masking The need to mask their true opinions,
skills, and level of confidence as
they navigated the race/gender
influenced power dynamics of the
professional higher education
space
Microaggressions and
assumptions
Racial and gender microaggressions
and assumptions made about their
identities, communication, and
overall presence in the role.
Uncomfortable
conversations and
interactions
Institutional approaches to DEI Diversity missions, institutional
initiatives to recruit/promote Black
employees
Representation of Black women in
leadership
The presence and retention of Black
women in leadership roles at the
participants’ institutions
Regional experiences Specific racialized and gendered
experiences related to the area in
which each participant’s institution
lies
99
Table E2
Codes for RQ 2
Theme Description of theme Subthemes
Self-efficacy Confidence; belief that they are competent and effective
in their roles
Support and trust
from leadership
Self-preservation Behaviors use to preserve the emotional, physical, and
mental wellness of the participant
Sense of
responsibility
Need to educate and inform colleagues about Black
issues, serve as an advocate/mentor to Black students
and staff
Table E3
Codes for RQ 3
Theme Description of theme Subthemes
Formalized strategies to
promote diversity in
leadership Funded, tangible equity and inclusion initiatives
Respect the work
Awareness, respect, and acknowledgement of the
leader and the work being done by the leader
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Black women in higher education leadership experience complex forms of discrimination that impact how they operate in their professional roles. This study used an intersectional and ecological lens to explore the racialized and gendered experiences of Black women in leadership roles at a predominantly White institution. Using a qualitative methodology, this study analyzed how 11 Black women perceived their experiences as leaders at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) across the United States, their institution’s diversity climate, and how it may impact their self-efficacy and leadership approaches. The findings revealed that Black women’s unique identity-related experiences in the workplace interacted with the contextual components of the different ecological contexts within PWIs: microaggressions and uncomfortable conversations within the department, low representation of Black women in leadership, the diversity initiatives of the institution, and the influence of the institution’s geographic region. This study also concluded that the participants held positive self-efficacy beliefs especially when reinforced by leadership, and incorporated empathy, self-preserving behaviors, and felt a sense of responsibility to Black students and staff in their leadership approaches. Finally, the findings demonstrated that in order for institutions to create positive climates for diversity, Black women needed to see formalized strategies to promote diversity in leadership and to feel that their work is respected.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Richardson, Toni Jenae
(author)
Core Title
Leading from the margins: exploring the perspectives of Black women in leadership roles at predominantly white institutions
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Educational Leadership
Degree Conferral Date
2022-08
Publication Date
07/01/2022
Defense Date
04/27/2022
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
Black women,campus climate,diversity,Higher education,leadership,OAI-PMH Harvest,PWI
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Tobey, Patricia (
committee chair
), Hawkins, Viannda (
committee member
), Kezar, Adrianna (
committee member
)
Creator Email
tonijenae@gmail.com,tonirich@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC111352079
Unique identifier
UC111352079
Legacy Identifier
etd-Richardson-10805
Document Type
Dissertation
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Richardson, Toni Jenae
Type
texts
Source
20220706-usctheses-batch-950
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
campus climate
PWI