Women Academics’ Learning as a Result of Being Bullied

Intersectionality

Collins and Bilge’s (2020) theory of intersectionality shows how oppressed positionalities overlap. The power relations of various positionalities “build on each other and work together; [and]. . . affect all aspects of the social world” (p. 12) Using intersectionality as a heuristic illuminates the complexities of one’s identity and subjectivity and the power relations associated with various identities (Collins & Bilge, 2020).

The core constructs of power, social inequality, and social context are especially relevant in analyzing the experiences of women academics who are bullied. Domains of power include structural power, or the power of social institutions (Collins & Bilge, 2020), cultural power such as the belief that everyone has access to the same opportunities, and disciplinary power which shows how rules are applied to individuals based on different positionalities (Collins & Bilge, 2020). Interpersonal power is how individuals use structural, cultural, and disciplinary power. Relationality examines looks at how positionalities and power intersect (Collins & Bilge, 2020). These intersecting positionalities and power produce social inequities. Social context helps us understand how knowledge production is organized and how particular disciplines are hierarchical (Collins & Bilge, 2020).

Transformative Learning

Mezirow’s transformative learning is also a constructivist theory that considers “reflection on experience for transformation” (Fenwick, 2001, p. 21). Transformative learning occurs when there is a change in our beliefs or attitudes or “meaning scheme” or a “perspective transformation” (Mezirow, 2000, p. 34). Mezirow delineates a 10-phase process and argues this type of learning involves experience, critical reflection on that experience, talking with others, and acting on the experience (Mezirow, 2000). The process begins with a “disorienting dilemma” (p. 22), which can be an event or series of events that prompt reflection. For example, a professor’s colleagues indicate that her research is of no consequence and “anyone” could teach her classes (disorienting dilemma). She critically reflects on these experiences. Previously, she spent 60 hours a week on teaching, and research activities. She reconsiders her priorities (reflection). She talks to others and decides to prioritize socializing with family and friends over work (talking with others, action). She forms an advocacy group for bullied faculty (action).

Scholars have examined transformative learning through a feminist lens. Factors that promoted transformative learning particularly among women included relationships such as “role models, mentors and critical friends” (English & Peters, 2012, p. 112). Power relations and context were integral to understanding the transformative learning process as was a reflection on experiences (English & Peters, 2012). For women, transformative learning often occurs under oppressive conditions and emotions such as anger are part of the process (English & Irving, 2012). The importance of the body in the transformative learning process is also noted.

Learning from Being Bullied

Research on bullying in higher education has described how women were bullied without closely looking at the skills learned or the changed perspectives, although some articles briefly mention learning occurred. Dentith et al.’s (2015) article reveals three women professors’ experiences. When upper administration told an untenured assistant professor that her research was not valid and advised her to discontinue international collaborations, she learned “not to attract too much attention” or “look too ambitious” (pp. 31–32).

Johnson-Bailey (2015), an African American professor, describes her racialized and gendered experiences of being bullied, including having her competence and authority questioned by students. She is addressed as “Miss,” “Ms,” or “Mrs” while her male colleagues and students are addressed as “Dr.” She learned that academia was not “sacrosanct, but an American workplace that did not exist apart and superior to the outside world” (p. 42). Sedivy-Benton et al., (2014) briefly mentioned “survival strategies” that women used to counteract bullying, from “protesting.... documenting and reporting incidents, to avoidance, and ultimately to leaving an institution” (p. 40). Emotional detachment is another learned coping strategy (Hollis, 2015; Lester, 2009; MacIntosh et al., 2010; Sedivy-Benton et al., 2014).

Gender Differences in Bullying Behaviors

Women academics’ experiences of being bullied differ from men’s. Women “reported a more serious incident of student incivility, bullying, aggression or sexual attention during their careers” (Lampman, 2012, p. 184). Women were more often targets of bullying (Simpson & Cohen, 2004, p. 179) and also experienced more “academic counterpower harassment” (ACPH), which is when a person lower on the hierarchy, such as a student or administrative assistant, bullies a faculty member (Lampman et al., 2016).

Valverde (2013) details her personal experiences as a woman of color in academia and the discrimination she faces based on “gender, race, ethnicity, class, disability, and motherhood” (p. 372). Valverde (2013) advocates for self-care by seeking mental health professionals if needed, getting exercise, sleeping, and saying no to projects. She encourages individuals to “recognize you are not alone,” (p. 405) “tell your story,” (p. 406), “learn their rights,” and “mobilize for change” (p. 417).

Power and Gender

Women mentioned the patriarchal system affected the work environment, including exclusion from decision-making. Hiring committees preferred men for faculty positions, men spoke more at meetings, and were the decision-makers. Nan stated that in department meetings, “Most of the people who speak are men and the same old men. Nobody dares say anything… Just noticing, by what kind of people speak, is a suggestion, almost, of who can and who cannot.” Sarah understood that program decisions were made behind closed doors. “It’s happening in so and so’s office where the four guys get together ….but the biggest struggle is to just know that, oh, the script has been written. If you go in and you are trying to do deviate from that script, then you’re putting a mark on your back.” Dr X stated that men needed to assist women in being heard in meetings. She said, “Two men in my department….very quickly noticed that I had good ideas that nobody even heard. So, they started suggesting them and got told, ‘Oh, John, what a good idea.’ After a year of this. . . they started their comments, ‘As [Dr X] just said….’” In addition, Sarah noticed that men exclusively staffed the editorial boards of all the journals in her discipline.

Two women mentioned gendered socialization and gendered expectations in their workplaces, in effect academic housekeeping. Nan believed women were anxious to please and were more likely to see themselves as less competent than men. She stated, “Males. . . have a lot more trust that they are competent, and they are delivering what needs to be delivered even if they are not.” Dinah noted, “Women end up doing a lot of academic housekeeping. Doing the administrative roles and things like that.” Dinah explained that women “feel like we should be… the dutiful daughters at the meetings. There are a lot of associate female professors who haven’t gone up for a promotion because they’ve been doing all the administrative work at the department.”

Women’s bodies were also the subject of bullying. From a health-related discipline, Den had undergone multiple surgeries and gained weight. She reported, “My comments on my evaluation said, ‘Why should I be learning from this person who is obviously not physically fit?’” Her boss told her she “should go do more teaching and not physical work out classes.” Den noted, “I’d had nonstop headaches for over, about a year at that point. I was just dealing the best I could.”

Power and Academic Discipline

Women in small programs felt especially marginalized. Sarah said, “Within my own department we have a strong applied micro [economics] group, and these guys, they stick together, they have agendas…. There are times in meetings where I feel marginalized because I’m a macroeconomist because they tend to place students well in the job market and somehow that makes them feel that they’re better. . . so they deserve all the resources.” Lori added, “I’m in the program that has the smallest number of faculty members. But when we vote for new hires, everybody has an equal vote. We were not given the autonomy to make choices about how our part of the department should grow.” Sally echoed the concern, describing the program paired with hers as, “The bullying force of my time here at my [institution]. It has felt as though we are an unworthy group.”

Transformative Learning

Women’s experiences of being bullied resulted in changes in perceptions about oneself, others, and one’s institution, which resulted in shifts in priorities. They emerged from these experiences having learned more deeply about themselves and others and had changes in their worldview.

Women recognized how to value themselves and use their energy. Participants became empowered when they learned how to pick their battles. Sally noted, “I stand up for myself more than I did in the past. . . But I also tried to be aware of when the fight is worth it or when it’s easier to just not...move into spaces where that’s going to happen.” Sarah added,

There were so many people in the group that were indifferent...I can’t be indifferent...That I cannot be but just take one step back so that I’m not as [emotionally] involved. Like if so-and-so did this, this is not a battle worth fighting.

Lori noted, “My husband always says, ‘You can’t change other people but you can change your reaction to them’...I have tried to focus really on what’s important… and to try not to let the stuff get to me.” Martha felt disrespected by colleagues and stated, “You have to build some type of tough skin—in a very professional way. You cannot explode every time somebody makes a comment, every time someone says something, micro-aggressions.” Sarah stated,

[I learned] just to have a thicker skin, I guess. One of my colleagues, for instance, he was talking he turned to me, and he’s like ‘Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.’ In that moment I was just so shocked. But anyway, now I have limited interaction with that person, for instance. I have now classified some people as I don’t need to waste my energy on them.

Participants also became more self-reliant and self-protective. Flora stated, “I’ve learned to rely a lot on my own resources… [and] to always be open to opportunities to learn new ways of thinking and doing things. I’ve learned to be true to myself.” Sally also acknowledged that because of being bullied, she learned to better protect herself.

In some cases, women’s perceptions of themselves changed for the worse. Kathi questioned her perception of herself after learning that her colleagues thought of her as difficult. She said, “And you hear stories, right? I didn’t think I’d be one of them. Because I also think of myself as a very likable, personable person. Amicable. Am I difficult? . . . Most people tend to like me, so it’s made me kind of challenge that perception of myself.” Char indicated, “I thought I was stronger than I am. I thought that someone accusing me of something so heinous would just … I could laugh it off easier. I wasn’t able to. I learned I’m not as strong as I thought.” Nan stated,

I didn’t respond in a way that suggested that I have trust in my own value as a professional. I didn’t fight back. . . I didn’t basically communicate how appropriate or inappropriate that was. Also, internalizing it to a degree. That I should’ve internalized it a lot less. It basically taught me that I might not be somebody who can fight for her own rights.

The women’s views of others and institutions also worsened. Char and Sarah’s comments indicated their change in the perception of others. Sarah realized that everyone had a strategy, stating, “Now I think, ‘Oh, OK. Everyone’s playing some sort of strategic game’…. It’s so sad, but I feel like I’ve become more cynical and more doubting of other people.” Char recognized that not everyone was friendly;

I’m one of those people. I think the best of everybody. I’m just inherently trusting, and it’s gotten me screwed too many times…. I’d like to think the best of people. That people will do the right thing…. What I’ve learned is they will do whatever they can to make themselves seem better than they are.

The most prominent theme was learning there was a lack of support from colleagues, departmental staff, or the institution when they sought help regarding being bullied. Dinah observed, “This profession rewards bad behavior, and [I learned] how few mechanisms there are to ensure stability within the department.” Sally explained, “I get bullied, and they don’t do much in the way of protection. They talk a lot, but the actions that one would hope could rectify situations that they’re too afraid of being sued to actually respond appropriately.” Nan defined it as, “Punitive. Yes, that’s the word. It’s a punitive institution…. On a personal level that’s not my experience [but] when you put them together in that culture it results in a different experience.” Char reflected, “[Bullying] is hidden, . . . nothing will ever change. You either deal with it in the department or you leave.”

Women also experienced changes in priorities. They found work/life balance and started to enjoy life more as well as gaining compassion for others. Lori got married and had children. She said, “I reassessed my whole life and decided that my self-esteem shouldn’t come from my job. We married in 2006, and we had twins in 2008. Since then, life has been more important than my career.” Sarah was pregnant while experiencing being bullied and realized that stress was not good for her, and she needed to focus on herself. Den’s health issues precipitated a change. She said, “When my medical issues happened… yeah, that’s when I first started changing and then I just made a conscious decision. I am to promote myself to get healthy, to reeducate. It’s for me and it’s for me to be happier here.” Kathi said, “Like why am I working so hard to get these publications and investing so much of my life, and then nothing really happens? I don’t really feel valued here. I’m constantly working. . . . at the detriment of work-family balance. I am paying more attention to what I enjoy and gives me joy.”

Despite being bullied, another growth-producing meaning scheme change included developing compassion. Sally’s journey taught her compassion. She stated,

Everybody has their own story and makes the world in what they think it’s supposed to look like. I’ve been reading a little bit about Buddhist teachings of suffering and fear and trying to understand how people cope with the world that they live in, whatever that is. My empathy toward people I hope has improved and that suffering is part of the life we have and everybody makes that… show up differently… I tried to be more forgiving but also more cautious.

In summary, women engaged in deep learning as a result of being bullied. This learning changed women’s views of themselves and relationships with others. Women learned how to protect their emotional energy, questioned previously held perceptions of themselves of themselves and their abilities, recognized the limitations of support for those bullied in academia, found a better work/life balance and had more compassion for others.