Women of Color in Academia

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Bermúdez ◽  
Rachel R. Camacho
Keyword(s):  
Women Of Color ◽  
Transnational Feminism ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Faculty Of Color ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
White People ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Systemic Nature ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Women Faculty Of Color

This chapter addresses the intersecting roles of race and gender that impact the lives of women faculty of color. The authors explore the overt and covert acts of hostility that they experienced while co-teaching a graduate-level class and challenged the racism and sexism embodied by some of their students. White fragility speaks to a state in which some White people refuse to acknowledge the systemic nature of racism from which they benefit on a daily basis, instead redirecting attention toward their feelings of discomfort when confronted with their racist behaviors. Hegemonic masculinity speaks to the ways in which some men benefit from political, social, and economic systems that legitimize patriarchy and the subordination of women. These phenomena, rooted in colonialist and imperialist histories that transnational feminism works to destabilize, viscerally affect women of color in the academy.

scholarly journals Undergraduates’ awareness of White and male privilege in STEM

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Dancy ◽  
Katherine Rainey ◽  
Elizabeth Stearns ◽  
Roslyn Mickelson ◽  
Stephanie Moller
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
White Men ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
White People ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Systemic Factors ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background It is well-documented that experiences in STEM courses for women and students of color are different from the experiences of White men. As part of a larger interview study, 183 college seniors from diverse gender and race backgrounds were asked their thoughts on whether the experience of being a STEM major was different for people of different races and genders. We use a framework of “science as White property”, derived from critical race theory, to frame this study and results. Results White men were largely unaware of any impact of race or gender. In contrast, women of color overwhelmingly report, consistent with results from a large body of prior research, that both race and gender impact their experiences as STEM majors. Students who acknowledged race and gender impacts did not always attribute these impacts to cultural or systemic factors (i.e., some reported women are underrepresented because they are less interested in STEM rather than a structural reason). Impacts identified that were attributable to systemic factors included impacts related to being a demographic minority (i.e., intimidation, feeling out of place, feeling pressure to work harder) and/or discrimination (i.e., job discrimination, bias against women or people of color and cultural assumptions implying the superiority of White people and men). A small number of students (mostly White women) stated that women or people of color benefit from their underrepresented status, often attributing this benefit to a perception of extra encouragement and opportunities. A common theme across categorizations was that women and students of color work harder than men and White people either because they are perceived to be harder workers or as a response to the sexism and racism they encounter. Conclusions We found that White men are largely unaware of the impacts of race or gender on the pursuit of a STEM degree. Additionally, with the exception of women of color, students are less likely to perceive race as having an impact on the experiences of students than gender. We conclude with a discussion of implications for future work related to gender and race representation in STEM.

scholarly journals Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence Against Women of Color

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
Keyword(s):  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
White Women ◽  
Racial Violence ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Racial Stratification ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Experiences Of Women

Identity-based politics has been a source of strength for people of color, gays and lesbians, among others. The problem with identity politics is that it often conflates intra group differences. Exploring the various ways in which race and gender intersect in shaping structural and political aspects of violence against these women, it appears the interests and experiences of women of color are frequently marginalized within both feminist  and antiracist discourses. Both discourses have failed to consider the intersections of racism and patriarchy. However,  the location of women of color at the intersection of race and gender makes our actual experience of domestic violence, rape, and remedial reform quite different from that of white women. Similarly, both feminist and antiracist politics have functioned in tandem to marginalize the issue of violence against women of color. The effort to politicize violence against women will do little to address the experiences of nonwhite women until the ramifications of racial stratification among women are acknowledged. At the same time, the anti-racist agenda will not be furthered by suppressing the reality of intra-racial violence against women of color. The effect of both these marginalizations is that women of color have no ready means to link their experiences with those of other women.

scholarly journals Pedagogies of Race: The Politics of Whiteness in an African American Studies Course

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina V. Jones
Keyword(s):  
White Students ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
White People ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
And Gender ◽  
American Society

This paper evaluates students' arguments for a color-blind society to avoid discussions related to the continued existence of racism in USA culture. Relatedly, this writer finds that as an black woman her status as facilitator in the classroom is directly challenged, on occasion, and that race and gender play a primary role in students' perception of classroom material and how she is perceived. Classroom discussions related to historical texts reveal that structures of domination have slanted perception of black and white people in U.S. culture. Finally, a key to open dialogue about race and racism, primarily for white students, is to explain and demonstrate the invisibility of whiteness or white privilege in American society.

scholarly journals “We’re Being Released to a Jungle”: The State of Prisoner Reentry and the Resilience of Women of Color

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Garcia-Hallett
Keyword(s):  
Women Of Color ◽  
Prisoner Reentry ◽  
The State ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Before And After ◽  
And Gender

The punitive carceral system is expected to tame people of color into docile bodies through their imprisonment. Furthermore, the oppressive and punitive U.S. context embodies patriarchy and injustice in which women of color endure unique obstacles at the intersection of race and gender. Given the power structures built to destabilize women of color before and after incarceration, this study uses interview data to examine their perseverance through carceral systems. The findings illustrate how oppressive regimes shape postincarceration obstacles and explore how women of color combat social-structural inequalities after incarceration.

Race, Gender, and Emotion Work among School Principals

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Ispa-Landa ◽  
Sara Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
White Women ◽  
Novice Principals ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Managerial Authority ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender And Emotion ◽  
Over Time

Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can complicate professional women’s attempts to exercise managerial authority. However, current understandings of how race and gender intersect in professional women’s emotional labor remain limited. We draw on 132 interviews from eight white women and 13 women of color who are novice principals. White women began the principalship wanting to establish themselves as emotionally supportive leaders who were open to others’ influence. They viewed emotional labor as existing in tension with showing authority as a leader. Over time, however, most white women reported adopting more directive practices. By contrast, women of color reported beginning the principalship with a more directive, take-charge leadership style. They viewed emotional labor and authority as part of a blended project and did not talk about these two aspects of leadership as existing in tension. Over time, their self-reported leadership style changed little. We analyze our findings in light of recent theorizing about gender and intersectionality.

Faculty women of color: The critical nexus of race and gender.

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 199-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner ◽  
Juan Carlos González ◽  
Kathleen Wong (Lau)
Keyword(s):  
Women Of Color ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Faculty Women ◽  
And Gender

What Lies Ahead: Envisioning New Futures for Feminist Philosophy

Hypatia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 927-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Intemann ◽  
Emily S. Lee ◽  
Kristin McCartney ◽  
Shireen Roshanravan ◽  
Alexa Schriempf
Keyword(s):  
Women Of Color ◽  
Feminist Philosophy ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Feminist Perspectives ◽  
And Gender

Thanks in large part to the record of scholarship fostered by Hypatia, feminist philosophers are now positioned not just as critics of the canon, but as innovators advancing uniquely feminist perspectives for theorizing about the world. As relatively junior feminist scholars, the five of us were called upon to provide some reflections on emerging trends in feminist philosophy and to comment on its future. Despite the fact that we come from diverse subfields and philosophical traditions, four common aims emerged in our collaboration as central to the future of feminist philosophies. We seek to: 1) challenge universalist and essentialist frameworks without ceding to relativism; 2) center coloniality and embodiment in our analyses of the intermeshed realities of race and gender by shifting from oppression in the abstract to concrete cosmologies and struggles, particularly those of women of color and women of colonized communities across the globe; 3) elaborate the materialities of thought, being, and community that must succeed atomistic conceptions of persons as disembodied, individually constituted, and autonomous; 4) demonstrate what is distinctive and valuable about feminist philosophy, while fighting persistent marginalization within the discipline. In our joint musings here, we attempt to articulate how future feminist philosophies might advance these aims, as well as some of the challenges we face.

scholarly journals Exploring the Benefits and Drawbacks of Age Disclosure among Women Faculty of Color

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Alicia Smith-Tran
Keyword(s):  
Nontraditional Students ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Faculty Of Color ◽  
Women Faculty ◽  
Safe Space ◽  
Social Location ◽  
Perceived Age ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Women Faculty Of Color

This article is guided by two questions: How is age an important aspect of social location that, when forthcoming about it with students, can be beneficial for pedagogical purposes? and How can women faculty of color—particularly those who appear youthful and/or are younger than most of their colleagues—address the marginality of their actual and/or perceived age while simultaneously operating in a space that is contested for women of color? I highlight four benefits that arose as a result of disclosing my age to students: It (1) enabled me to provide concrete examples that were illustrative of key course concepts, (2) helped students understand how age is relational and contextually significant, (3) facilitated the creation of a safe space for “nontraditional” students, and (4) allowed me to better control the narrative students crafted about me based on their perceptions of me as an instructor.

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