Barriers to the advancement of women of color faculty in STEM. The need for promoting equity using an intersectional framework

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0199
• Published date: 15 April 2019
• Date: 15 April 2019
• Pages: 328-348
• Author: Maya Corneille,Anna Lee,Sherrice Allen,Jessica Cannady,Alexia Guess
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity, equality, inclusion

Barriers to the advancement of

women of color faculty in STEM

The need for promoting equity using an

intersectional framework

Maya Corneille, Anna Lee, Sherrice Allen, Jessica Cannady and

Alexia Guess

Department of Psychology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University,

Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to highlight critical issues facing women of color (WOC) faculty and

to synthesize the research literature in order to offer recommendations for action to address inequities using

an intersectionality framework.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors conducted a qualitative meta-analysis. Relevant articles

were obtained through a search of the EBSCO and Google Scholar databases entering in combinations of

specific keywords. In order to be included in this review, the manuscripts had to be published between the

years 2001 and 2017; in a peer-reviewed journal; and available through the university library system.

Findings –The majority of manuscripts in the meta-analysis revealed high teaching and service loads,

ambiguous standards for tenure and lack of culturally responsive mentorship are challenges experienced by

WOC faculty. Moreover, there is limited research that examines STEM WOC faculty experiences at minority-

serving institutions and in leadership roles. Further research is needed to examine the long-term efficacy of

mentoring strategies and institutional transformation efforts for WOC. These numerous challenges

cumulatively undermine institutions’abilities to implement institutional transformation that impacts WOC in

higher education.

Originality/value –The recommendations provided are based on the results of the meta-analysis and are

intended to promote systemic change for STEM WOC faculty in institutions through intersectional and

transformational approaches.

Keywords Teaching, Tenure, STEM, Service, Mentorship, Women of color faculty

Paper type Literature review

Essential to the advancement of women of color (WOC) faculty in science, technology,

engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is an institutional culture that promotes

equity by empowering organizational structures to facilitate the attainment of leadership

positions. Currently, Black/African American, Latina and Native women are grossly

underrepresented in the academy and, most drastically, in full professor ranks. According to

National Science Foundation data on science, health and engineering doctorates, Black/African

American, Latina, and Native women accounted for less than 1 percent of full professors, less

than 2.5 percent of associate professors and less than 3 percent of assistant professors (National

Science Foundation, 2015). The daunting magnitude of underrepresentation of WOC in the

STEM professoriate underscores serious equity concerns that have the potential to negatively

impact institutional equity, undergraduate and graduateSTEM education and societyat large

(Monroe et al., 2008). Specifically, the potential consequences of this underrepresentation are

that fewerWOC faculty are involved in developing and implementing institutionalpolicies that

promote equity (Ong et al., 2011); fewer aspirational and support models exist for students of

color (Espinosa, 2011; Morse, 1995; Ong et al., 2011; Rosser, 2004); and fewer WOC researchers

are in place to use their unique perspectives for conducting research on problems plaguing

communities of color (e.g. health disparities, biases in STEM pedagogies) (Malcom and

Malcom, 2011; Morse and Pratt (1995); Ong et al., 2011). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 38 No. 3, 2019

pp. 328-348

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0199

Received 29 September 2017

Revised 23 January 2018

10 August 2018

20 September 2018

9 November 2018

Accepted 18 December 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

328

EDI

38,3

to highlight critical issues facing WOC STEM faculty through qualitative meta-analysis that

synthesizes existing literature and to propose recommendations for action using an

intersectionality framework. The recommendations are based on an intersectional l ens because

it accounts for the roles of power and privilege and allows for the evaluation of the impact of

race and gender simultaneously (Collins, 2002; Thomas et al., 2008).

Background and rationale

In recent years, there has been an increase in the literature on WOC faculty in the academy.

Research has documented that WOC experience racism and sexism (Harley, 2008; Patitu and

Hinton, 2003; Thomas and Hollenshead, 2001; Turner, 2003; Turner et al., 2008; Villalpando

and Delgado Bernal, 2002) in the workplace. In one study African American women reported

incidents that involved race, gender and sexual orientation when asked to describe their

experiences as administrators (Patitu and Hinton, 2003). WOC have also reported feeling

less integrated into the academic culture (Turner, 2003), having fewer opportunities for

collaborative research (Harley, 2008) and being disproportionately burdened with university

service (Monroe et al., 2008).

While there has been a greater research emphasis on WOC faculty in general, there is a

lack of understanding the experiences of WOC faculty in STEM. The aim of this work is to

synthesize and analyze the existing research literature on STEM WOC faculty to make

actionable recommendations. Because prior research has documented that WOC faculty

experience race and gender-based bias, the analysis is centered within an intersectional

theoretical framework. This framework was chosen to account for the simultaneous impact

of race and gender on an individual’s experience. We focused on three major areas that are

associated with career advancement in academia: teaching and service, tenure and

promotion and mentorship.

Methods

Qualitative meta-analysis was selected as the methodological approach because most of the

published research studies used a qualitative research approach. Therefore, a qualitative

meta-analysis, also known as meta-synthesis, was used to provide greater insight into the

lived experiences of WOC faculty (Park and Gretzel, 2007). A meta-analysis is used to

synthesize the outcomes of various studies related to the same topic or outcome measure

(Hunter et al., 1982). Typically, meta-analysis is conducted as a quantitative procedure

geared toward the comparison of effect sizes across research studies. The benefit of a

qualitative meta-analysis is an integration of research findings that is more interpretative

and rather than aggregative. It is also important to note the challenges associated with this

approach, which include adequacy of qualifying studies and inclusion criteria; availability

and accessibility of qualified studies; publication bias; quality vs quantity of primary

studies; studies containing both quantitative and qualitative data; studies based on identical

samples; locating relevant findings; and the ability to ensure that independent coding and

data analysis were conducted by multiple qualified researchers (Xu, 2008). However, other

scholars have stated that criteria of quality should not be used to determine inclusion or

exclusion of primary studies into a qualitative meta-analysis study and no strict rule exists

as to what specific number is considered adequate (Sandelowski and Barroso, 2006).

Criteria for inclusion: the authors conducted a search of the EBSCO and Google Scholar

databases by entering combinations of the following keywords: WOC faculty, STEM,

tenure, mentorship, teaching, service and advancement. We supplemented the initial list

with hand searches based on reference lists. Google Scholar was used to account for the

variety of discipline-specific journals in which this type of research may be published. In

order to be included in this review, the manuscripts had to be published between the years

2001 and 2017; located in a peer-reviewed journal and available through the university

329

Barriers to the

advancement of

WOC faculty