Identity politics: Why African American women are missing in administrative leadership in public higher education

Abstract

There is an exiguous representation of African American women in leadership positions at institutions of higher education. This study examines the experiences related to the retention of Black women administrators at Predominantly White Institutions through a qualitative phenomenological lens. This study explored the experiences of five African American women administrators at public institutions across the USA. The participants highlighted the impact of Black Tax, the presentation of their authentic selves, and the impact of microaggressions on their retention as administrators.

Keywords

African American Black women phenomenological Black Tax retention administrator career higher education leadership

Introduction

The exiguous representation of African American women in leadership positions at institutions of higher education has been a long-standing issue globally that has gained little traction (Howard-Vital, 1989; Jones, 2013). The lack of institutional support, the shortage of African American women in entry and mid-level positions, and Black women leaving higher education after attaining their doctoral degrees have all been identified as factors that contribute to their absence from academia at a variety of levels within the USA (Wolfe and Dilworth, 2015). Recent studies demonstrate diminishing gains in the growth of the number of African Americans who are ascending, in particular, to upper-level administrative positions at institutions of higher learning (Lewis, 2017).

Studies have commonly placed African American women into monolithic categorizations of “women” or “African American”; this systematic grouping results in characteristics associated with White women and Black males (Britton, 2013). The contributions of all women in higher education has steadily increased over the years globally; however, Black women leaders’ contributions in higher education have remained marginalized (Parker, 2015). In 2014, African American women in the USA constituted the largest group of non-White women in academia at 236,375 individuals, with the vast majority serving in clerical positions, narrowly followed by faculty, and only 6% serving in upper-level leadership or administrative positions (Wallace et al., 2014). The representative numbers further dwindle down, the higher the academic or administrative rank (Wallace et al., 2014).

Background

Black women administrators have expressed aspirations to obtain key leadership roles on college campuses, yet few reach these senior-level positions (Alexander, 2010). For centuries, Black women have been figuratively (and at times literally) imprisoned in national and international spaces, while advocating for their rights to freedom and education. Marginalization, social isolation, limited mentoring opportunities, and unwelcoming campus communities are all environmental factors that have affected the leadership experiences and potential for African American women to be retained and ascend in their careers (Jones, 2013; Wallace et al., 2014). Women of color are often faced with misconceptions by their colleagues of who they actually are, which are informed by stereotypes that depict Black women in particular as loud, unapproachable, bossy, and threatening in their approach to leadership and authority (Howard et al., 2016; Marbley et al., 2011).

While there has been growth in the literature that exists on African Americans in higher education settings, it has primarily focused on qualitative studies of retention of students or faculty, and has been negligent in the exploration of female African American administrators and their experiences (Wolfe and Dilworth, 2015). The incorporation of diversity serves as a benefit to individual leaders, students, and the institution, as diversity enhances the campus community through multicultural perspectives and develops global citizenry. There is also a civic responsibility for institutional boards and executive management in colleges and universities to meet the needs of the changing demographics on campus (Guillory, 2001).

International perspectives

In traditional, international, and American contexts, women are concentrated in jobs in lower ranks that require lower skill sets, resulting in lower pay, across all fields including higher education (Datta and Bhardwaj, 2015). For Black women in higher education in an international context such as the UK, they are what Stockfelt calls the “minority of the minorities” (2018: 1012). There is little research available on Black women leadership in higher education outside of North America. What is known is that women in general are underrepresented in positions of leadership in higher education beyond the borders of the USA. Internationally, women have worked in the margins, making the lack of women leaders a global issue (Selzer et al., 2017). Women do not advance in the same timing as men, and there is a particular dearth of women of color ascending into senior administration positions in higher education (Selzer et al., 2017). Gender diversity in leadership has positively contributed to workplace performance. In a recent study conducted in the Netherlands that looked at leadership in Dutch civil service (government) positions, between 2012 and 2016, it was found that women were placed in leadership roles when there was a higher risk of failure expected in the position and when the organization was in peril (Groeneveld et al., 2019).

Much like their American counterparts, Swedish women are also facing issues with career ascension, demonstrating that progression is at a standstill, with little progress made in the past 20 years (Peterson, 2016). However, in academic settings women have shifted in a numerical turn, in what Peterson (2016) characterizes as the feminization process. In 2010, the university leadership in Sweden represented the highest percentage of women Vice Chancellors at 43% and 60% Pro Vice Chancellors in all of Europe (Peterson, 2016). While more women have ascended to higher positions, they are met with precarious placements that have high failure rates globally (Bruckmüller and Branscombe, 2010; Lasna Kabir, 2020).

African American women outnumber in degree attainment and academic achievement their Black male counterparts; however, it is Black males that are represented at higher levels of rank and success (Griffin et al., 2013). Black women earned three times as many master’s degrees and two times as many doctoral degrees as Black men, accounting for 64% of doctoral degrees, 72% of master’s degrees, and 66% of bachelor’s degrees earned by African Americans in the USA (Wilder et al., 2013). Women from all racial backgrounds have continued to attain more credentialing in higher education, earning more than 50% of all doctoral degrees since 2006 and more than 50% of master’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees, since 1987 and 1982, respectively (Johnson, 2017: 3).

Key findings from the literature support the negative experiences of race and gendered microaggressions that can make integration into the workplace difficult (Acosta, 2018).

Because of this, women seldom see the upper echelons of administration. In 2012, women in the USA represented only 26% of college/university presidents and those who are faculty only earn 78% of what their male counterparts make at four-year public institutions (Hannum et al., 2015).

Theoretical framework

The significance of this qualitative study is to explore the experiences of African American women in recruitment and retention, as well as factors that impact upward mobility at institutions of higher education. The theoretical framework is situated in Critical Race Theory (CRT), as created by Derrick Bell in 1979. CRT asserts that society sees racism as an ordinary, normal, and permanent component of American life, while not solely found in just American contexts (Delgado and Stefancic, 2001). CRT has five operational tenets, which scholars use to analyze race, racism, and power: counter-stories, the permanence of racism, Whiteness as property, interest convergence, and the critique of liberalism (DeCuir and Dixson, 2004; Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995). This theory challenges the dominant ideology of taking neutral stances in discourse and action as it pertains to race, as it rejects color blindness and laissez-faire attitudes about race. This perspective lends a voice to often-times silenced narratives, accounting for the experiences of African American women in higher education (Delgado and Stefancic, 2001).

Identity politics

African American women in higher education are faced with issues such as racism, sexism, climate, isolation, and institutional ethos that impact their ability to ascend in their careers (Selzer et al., 2017). The literature on Black leaders is primarily focused on males, while the research that does exist on Black women tends to focus on failure and deficiencies (Winkle-Wagner, 2015). Due to the underrepresentation of women in research, most leadership practices suggest male-centric foci and leadership norms that exclude women regardless of color (Dunn et al., 2014). This study found there were several factors leading to Black women experiencing success in their roles, without parity in promotion. The theme of identity politics in this study was evidenced by three sub-themes: Black Tax, Presentation of Authentic Self, and Microaggressions.

African American women experience double jeopardy or simultaneous oppressions as they navigate world and workplace as being both a woman and racially Black (Alexander-Floyd, 2010; Wolfe and Dilworth, 2015). In executive or administrative roles in higher education, African American women account for 5.8% (Wilder et al., 2013). Women hold more entry-level and service positions in higher education in comparison to men, with worsened conditions for women of color (Johnson, 2017). In America, men outpace women in earnings at four-year public institutions, earning US$13,874 more than women and earning US$18,201 more at private institutions; at two-year community colleges women make US$32,495 compared to US$30,050 for their male peers (Johnson, 2017). Research supports that while strides have been made for women to ascend to leadership positions in higher education, it has been a slow trek (Ballenger, 2010). Research implores that leaders in higher education need to revisit policies and university practices to ensure they do not serve as barriers to women who aspire to reach the upper echelons of the university (Ballenger, 2010; Davis and Maldonado, 2015).

Homosociability

Coleman (2012) hypothesizes homosociability, or the preference to hire and surround oneself with those who are similar to oneself, as reasoning for the lack of diversity in higher education. The impact of having faculty and staff of color on college campuses has positive repercussions, such as exposure to diversified epistemological perspectives and role modeling (Griffin and Muñiz, 2011). Research suggests that there is a weakened pipeline for African Americans in higher education, which begins with not successfully connecting Black students and adequately preparing them for roles of leadership or faculty (Davis and Maldonado, 2015). Black administrators that are recruited to work at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) have short-lived experiences and tend to leave the university quickly due to microaggressions and “isms,” exiting as fast as they enter (Pizarro and Kohli, 2018).

Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities. ( Wing Sue et al., 2007: 271)

Stereotypes that depict Black women, in particular, are controlling narratives where they are positioned as being difficult to work with, which is threatening to potential future supervisors. This can serve as a psychosocial underpinning to validate marginalization and manipulation and usually goes unchallenged (Howard et al., 2016). The standard American prototype in which all things leadership are compared to is White, heterosexual, middle-class males – and anything that deviates from that norm is considered an outsider or other (Coleman, 2012; Howard et al., 2016). The literature supports that women may be at a disadvantage to receive a promotion in comparison to their male counterparts. Men in positions of influence are predisposed to favor those with similar characteristics, and gravitate to other males (Grant and Taylor, 2014). Throughout every rank and position on a university campus, African American women encounter institutional practices and political dynamics that can serve as barriers to their achievement and upward mobility (Wilder et al., 2013).

Research method

The methodology used in this study was a qualitative research design, employing a phenomenological approach. Qualitative research seeks to explore and understand the meaning behind lived experiences as they are described, recounted, and observed through the participants (Marshall and Rossman, 2016). Qualitative studies are characterized by small sample groups and are marked with a close connection with participants through in-depth interviews that utilize open-ended prescribed questions that elicit rich responses from the participants in the study (Creswell, 2014).

Participants

This study explored the experiences of five African American women administrators in higher education in the USA. While the population can best be thought of as the total or a complete group, it is not possible to interview every Black woman in higher education. As such, a small sample, or a segment of the population, was used to explore African American women administrators’ experience at institutions of higher learning (Table 1). This article represents a segment of a complete study, which examines Black women’s experience with recruitment, retention, and recruitment; this article is focused on their experiences with retention only.

Table 1.

Demographic profiles of participants.

Participant pseudonym	Age	Current position	Years in student affairs
Eliza	62	Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs	38
Ngozi	40	Director, Student Affairs	16
Jasmine	34	Director, Student Affairs	10
Claire	35	Director, Student Affairs	9
Maxine	42	Associate Vice President for Student Affairs	18

The women that participated in this study all had more than three years of work experience at the director level and above in their leadership positions at PWIs at public universities across the USA. For the purposes of this study, director-level leadership is defined as a position of oversight and supervision, where the participant served as the primary leader of their respective department or office. The women varied in age (from their early 30s to their early 60s), position (director to vice provost, within Student Affairs units), and time in the field (6 years to more than 30 years), which offered a varied view of the experiences of African American administrators in higher education. The profiles of the five participants involved in the study include the participant self-selected pseudonym, age, current position, and years in Student Affairs.

Data collection

The women were recruited through purposeful sampling, where 25 emails were sent out to African American administrators, both men and women in higher education, who were at the assistant director level [at their institution] and above. Assistant director level for the purpose of this study is defined as the second person in rank for oversight of a department or office. Further solicitation of participants was done through snowball sampling, which asked the initial people that were emailed to share the email with others that met the research participant criteria. The snowball sample allowed for men, those that were not at the director level, and non-Blacks to share this research opportunity with those that may meet the study’s criteria. In this approach, participants responded to the email from across the USA, because of their interest in the study’s topic. This resulted in a significant distance between the researcher and participants, which prevented them from being able to meet in person. As such, interviews were scheduled to be conducted virtually through a video conference call, using GoToMeeting. The conference call interviews spanned from 83 to 128 minutes in length. The women were asked to share their experiences with the intersectionality of race and gender during their careers to answer the research question used in this study: What are the experiences related to retention within institutions of higher education for African American women?

Data analysis

Phenomenological studies are complex and dynamic and seek to unfold patterns that exist with the phenomena (Patton, 2015). The video conferencing allowed the researcher to visualize participants’ responses to questions, wherein some instances, the women had a physical response, triggering them to move from confident countenances to frustration, with dissonance being displayed. The GoToMeeting site also offered digital transcriptions of audio captured during the interview. After the five participants were interviewed, the data from their transcripts were reviewed. The researcher completed multiple reviews of the video and oral accounts of the participants over a three-month period; the researcher highlighted words and phrasing that served as interesting points of information from the raw data. The memos, highlighted areas, and jotted notes were used to establish salient points found in the transcripts and to reference and ensure thoughts were captured from the interviews. The coding themes were re-evaluated to see where connections could be made, and to see where concepts could be eliminated, combined, or collapsed, which led to the creation of themes and sub-themes (Bloomberg and Volpe, 2016).

Through phenomenological reduction, emerging themes are defined that describe the participants’ experiences, leading to the interpretative process of structural synthesis where meaning is made (Marshall and Rossman, 2016). However, this research study cannot speak for the collective experience of all Black women. The participants shared some common experiences in being employed at public, four-year PWIs, while working in Student Affairs in the USA. The researcher also is cognizant of her own similarities to the participants, as she identifies as a Black woman administrator in higher education, with a career background that spans more than 15 years in higher education. Similar to the participants she has served in a director-level position for more than eight years at several PWIs (one regional public, one elite private, one public research-intensive institution).

Findings

The voice and narratives of the five African American women administrators in higher education that participated in this study demonstrated that there was a strong similarity of experiences in reference to their identities that surpassed geographical proximity and years in the field of Student Affairs. In the data analysis of participants from the larger study, there were three broad themes that emerged, accompanied by nine sub-themes. Specifically for this article, only one of the overarching themes is examined – identity politics. The data analysis found three sub-themes: Black Tax, Presentation of Authentic Self, and Microaggressions.

Participants’ counter-narratives told stories of undermined authority, less qualified colleagues being promoted, increased scrutiny, and having to continually feel like they had to prove themselves in the workplace. Further, the participants shared a belief that they brought a filtered version of themselves to work each day in having to be acutely aware of their “Presentation of Authentic Self.” The women’s negative experiences at work were compounded with “Microaggressions,” where they lamented over experiences with past and current supervisors.

The collective frequency number for the major theme of identity politics was 74, which indicates the highest frequency of all the major themes identified. The participants readily were able to offer examples of experiences with all three sub-themes. Sub-theme 3 (Black Tax) showed the greatest frequency at 30 collective mentions by the participants, followed closely by sub-theme 4 (Presentation of Authentic Self) at 25, and sub-theme 5 (Microaggression), registering 19 references. The researcher found the cultural identities of the Black women impacted their experiences as administrators in higher education. The participants’ frequency of mentioning experiences, which demonstrated the increased workloads, stifled voice, and scrutinizing of their choice of personal style, and everyday stressors due to race and gender, signaled to the researcher that the codes should be captured into an overarching category of identity politics. The women were navigating campus politics in being indubitably asked to operate differently due to their identity as African American women, in order to progress to the next level.

Identity politics

The theme “identity politics” encompasses the three sub-themes of Black Tax, Presentation of Authentic Self, and Microaggressions. Participants shared a common thread of experiences that contributed to their ability and desire to be retained as administrators (Table 2). All participants felt a burden of always having to “prove themselves,” in addition to taking on heightened workloads, investing time in high levels of engagement with students, experiencing committee fatigue, and leading understaffed units. All women were able to give examples of how they experienced “Black Tax,” which included keywords, mentioning, and phrasing such as increased scrutiny, have to prove yourself, “all eyes on me.” The participants shared a belief that they brought a filtered version of themselves to work each day in having to be acutely aware of their “Presentation of Authentic Self.” This was demonstrated in the hairstyles they selected, clothing, nails, voice, tone, and comfort and confidence with speaking at meetings.

Table 2.

Participant frequency – identity politics.

MAJOR THEME:Identity politics	Sub-theme 3 Black Tax	Sub-theme 4 Presentation of Authentic Self	Sub-theme 5 Microaggressions
Keywords or phrasing	Increased scrutiny, extra workload, have to prove yourself, all eyes on me	Hair, clothing, voice, tone, speaking at meetings	Word explicitly stated, experiences with supervisors, “you’re so articulate”
Jasmine	7	8	4
Claire	6	8	5
Ngozi	8	4	3
Maxine	6	3	5
Eliza	3	2	2
Frequency	30	25	19

In an example of identity politics, Eliza gave the analogy of always having to be on alert and working even in her downtime. She described life as a senior administrator akin to being in a fishbowl, demonstrated by people being cognizant of her daily routine while she is unaware of their presence or observations. This made Eliza feel like she was “always at work,” even in her downtime. She reported being asked work-related questions while in non-work venues, such as the supermarket.

Claire recounted the impact a conversation with her supervisor had on her, one in which her choice of hairstyle was called into question and tied to her ability to demonstrate professionalism.

That was one of the very first times that I was kind of astutely aware that my Black womanhood impacted my profession on a daily basis without me really being cognizant of it. You know…but that conversation really kind of honed- in and made me know that I was already looked at differently. Just because of my race and gender combined, right? Like not one, or the other…the intersection of those two identities impacted the way in which people either interact with me or saw me walking about in the world.

Black Tax

African American faculty and staff are often expected to engage in university service that their White peers are not through what scholars refer to as cultural tax or Black Tax (Griffin et al., 2011). Black Tax is used to summarize the other duties that African American faculty and staff have to assume by virtue of skin color, such as the extra work of being on multiple committees to ensure a voice of color is present, mentoring students of color, being the “fixer” of problems on campus, and navigating issues around racism (Griffin et al., 2011). Black faculty and administrators are often sought out by African American students, as they seek others who may understand their kindred cultural perspectives (Solorzano et al., 2000).

The literature foreshadows (Griffin et al., 2011) the time-consuming Black Tax imposed on the participants, which was not experienced by their White colleagues and did not lead to promotion. It resulted in participants being questioned or invalidated in their experiences by their White colleagues for the extra time spent with Black students and left them relegated to proving themselves without acknowledgment of success accomplished while doing so.

Being overworked is a component of Black Tax, where participants are expected to undertake additional responsibilities in supporting Black students by attending student events, providing extended listening or unofficial counseling sessions with students throughout the day, and advocating for Black students in meetings, hearings, and funding decisions. After proving competence and exceeding positional expectations, participants shared how they are questioned about time spent with students. This is an example of Black Tax. Eliza shared that her coping strategy to counter colleagues was to find balance between the role of an administrator and as an advocate for people of color on campus.

A similar experience the participants encountered was being looked down upon and being probed as to why students were constantly in their office. According to participants, it was common for Black students to visit their offices at length. Jasmine believed that Black students were in her office to feel supported in their identities and sought out administrators that looked like themselves. Even though the time with a student is a benefit to the student, Jasmine said she was questioned about the length of time students were in her office. She recounted students piled into her office, just to feel connected and to have the opportunity to “let down their guards.” This was an additional obligation that participants all shared that their White colleagues did not have to take on. Jasmine commented that colleagues began to have apprehension about her ability to continue to be successful due to the constant influx of students in her office. Jasmine shared how even in doing her job, she is faced with increased scrutiny.

Jasmine reflected:

It became a moment of, all that you’re able to produce, and yet have these students consistently in your office. And thinking we’re talking about nothing when we are actually talking about a lot of pertinent issues, and it’s not just having a conversation. It’s having our students have a place where they can be comfortable and confident in who they are, and they can take off the mask that a lot of our students have to put on in order to perform in academics.

Black students’ connection to staff of color is critical not only for student retention, but also their success in matriculation. While participants all expressed a desire to be a positive motivating factor in Black students’ experience, time spent with students on identity-based support beyond their job descriptions did impact their daily workloads. The literature suggests that the extra Black Tax responsibilities assumed by administrators was similar to faculty of color. Black Tax for those in the classroom could impede progress toward tenure, as that work does not go toward becoming tenured and is time-consuming (Griffin et al., 2011). Instead, scholarly productivity is valued, placing African American faculty engaged in service at a disadvantage, because it is inconsistent with activity that leads to their promotion (Griffin et al., 2011).

Maxine recounted:

A lot of mentoring goes on in face-to-face interactions, talking to students…showing up to events only because you know, if you have low attendance then they’re going to take funding away for those kinds of things. You know there’s a lot of political juggling that goes on, in terms of being a Black professional on campus, but I don’t think my White colleagues are aware of the negotiation that goes on.

Research showed that African American scholars are often questioned or invalidated in their experiences by their White counterparts. African American scholars are relegated to proving themselves, they are expected to work twice as hard to demonstrate competence, their race-related scholarship is questioned, and they are assumed to be an affirmative action hire (Griffin et al., 2011).

Presentation of Authentic Self

The participants shared that they encourage students to be authentic and advocated for students and their identities. However, as professionals, they did not themselves feel safe to show up as their authentic selves. The CRT tenet of “Whiteness as property” can be demonstrated in rules, regulations, and informal networking opportunities that are based on particulars and activities that are fundamental to the White culture (DeCuir and Dixson, 2004; Hiraldo, 2010). African American administrators in higher education may see this in dress codes, where cultural dress, head wraps, and hairstyles may be frowned upon in the workplace, or discredited and seen as unprofessional by their peers (Greene, 2010; Kringen and Novich, 2017). The participants in this study found it demonstrated in hairstyles they selected, clothing, nails, voice, tone, and speaking at meetings. They felt muted in how their voices were heard in meetings, and their aesthetic presentation of hairstyles and dress, which became isolating experiences. Those experiences did not contribute positively to retention at their institutions.

Claire recalled an exchange she had with a Black male supervisor, who himself had worn an ethnic hairstyle (i.e. braids, twists, or locs) when he asked her to switch up hairstyles.

Claire reflected:

Our conversation centered around, look at this particular director, as a Black woman, and her demeanor…look at her, you’re going to know what to expect because you see her with this style all the time. But with you, you never know what you’re gonna get, man, and it was one of those awakening moments. Like wow, the connection of my professionalism to my hairstyle. But then I am cognizant of the fact, that it’s because I’m a black woman. There are likely White women that are not addressed or approached the same way. I’m sure their supervisor isn’t choosing to make it a point to discuss as a part of their professionalism. And this woman he directed me to look at is kind of a model of what I should be, and what my hair should be as a Black woman, she has consistently, probably for the past 20 years as far as I have known, worn her hair straight.

Eliza found:

…as an [African American] woman, it’s so hard to tell whether things are based on your gender, or your ethnicity, or race. But when you’re in rooms with other males, and even males of color…where you may bring up something in a meeting, and then someone else brings up the same thing. All of a sudden everybody embraces what that other person said, if it’s a male. As if you didn’t already say it. And so I’ve learned to say - thank you for, you know reiterating the point…so I think it’s the race and gender combined that makes it challenging…you always feel like you have to prove yourself. That you’re representing your race. That if you do anything that’s negative, it is a reflection on your race. It’s just you the individual. So you’re always, I’m always, very cautious, about you know, I want to make sure that I don’t make us look bad…what I do has got to reflect all Black people on my campus. And so that’s a big burden as well. But other colleagues don’t have that. If we mess up then other [Black] people may not be given a chance.

They believed their voices were not heard or dismissed, and were felt they had to be calculated in how and when they speak. For Jasmine, this meant being careful to watch how much she talked and avoiding certain vernacular, euphemisms, and slang – so as not be regarded as an angry Black woman.

Jasmine said:

When you’re going in certain meetings, you can’t talk too much, because, you’re not heard. You have to be calculated with how you speak, when you speak…so those are things you have to be conscious of…so for example. If you’re in certain meetings, and you wait to speak because you’re trying to think about what you’re going to say, and how you’re going to say it to your colleagues in particular, who don’t look like you.

Microaggressions

Microaggressions are also seen as a softer way of describing those consistent, small racist acts, that for the most part go unmentioned. The researcher noted that all participants had experienced microaggressions and each woman chuckled or scoffed in acknowledgment of memories, and visibly and audibly wondered where they would start in selecting which stories to recount.

All participants left positions at some point in their careers due to bad experiences with isolation and microaggressions, except Eliza. They reported feeling “hurt” and devalued, sharing that they felt their hard work was rendered invisible. Claire said, “on a regular basis, I don’t feel valued or wanted.” Ngozi commented, “…every day I feel like I’m spread too thin.” All of the participants claimed to see White male and female colleagues, and Black men, quickly being promoted or recognized for work that they deemed to be of lesser quality. Claire, a self-described “superwoman” at work said:

There’s no value or recognition for me to stay, or for them to retain me because they’re not even choosing to acknowledge the work that was done. Whether its verbally giving kudos recognition, or whether that is through promotion or increase in pay, so it’s like, it’s almost like, I’m only doing it for me.

Discussion

The study found that Black women administrators in higher education are not being retained because of issues stemming from the identity politics they are exposed to while at work in PWIs. While the results of this study may not be generalizable due to the small sample, this study was conducted with an intentional emphasis on a small participant group in an effort to protect the identities of Black women in leadership. The theme of identity politics, with sub-themes of Black Tax, Presentation of Authentic Self, and Microaggression, emerged as participants gave their unique encounters with the CRT tenet of the permanence of racism. This tenet exposes the perpetuity of racism as being normalized routinely in campus life for African American women administrators.

The women’s negative experiences at work were compounded with “Microaggressions.” During the interviews the women lamented over experiences with past and current supervisors, and visibly showed irritation on their faces as they reflected on past experiences. African American women administrators who experience Microaggressions need to identify coping mechanisms that may aid in self-retention (Alexander, 2010). Three of the women in the study shared being offended when referred to as being “articulate”; in this instance, the permanence of racism must be questioned. They believed the manner in which the word articulate was used implied that it was an anomaly for Blacks to be well spoken. It leads one to ponder, what else would be expected out of a college-educated woman? The racial differences in speech and socialization have been identified as reasons why some women of color find themselves not placed in leadership positions (Cook and Glass, 2014). Four out of five participants shared testimonies of negative racially charged experiences with colleagues or supervisors. Further, participants confirmed, through counter-narratives, how they experienced alienation, being excluded, unreasonably questioned, and discounted – all expressions of Microaggressions, which make the workplace difficult to navigate and manage (Sulé, 2013).

African Americans’ participation in organizations and committees or interactions with cultural offices or departments creates an avenue to formulate subgroups or cultural enclaves. Similarly, Black women often engage in their own personalized spaces, which are both real and imagined as coping mechanisms (Howard et al., 2016). These enclaves are used to create cultural spaces for the African American population on campus, while immersed in a predominantly White campus community at PWIs (Brooker, 2016; Solorzano et al., 2000). These spaces serve as a coping mechanism and support base, where Black women join others in a place of shared experiences and support, storytelling, and reimagining their future through a cultural lens (Howard et al., 2016).

Participants shared their struggles in the absence of liberty to show up as their authentic selves. The women were questioned on aesthetics, their choices of hair styles, clothing, and nails. This illustrates CRT’s principle of Whiteness as Property, where White ideology is used to measure what is deemed acceptable and appropriate. The extra layer of scrutiny due to simply being Black piles unnecessary stress on Black women administrators as employees, in addition to everyday workloads. When this occurs, universities and hiring managers will start to see Black women administrators leaving, some to another job in academia, and others fleeing the field of higher education.

Throughout the study, participants provided evidence to how they felt negatively impacted, silenced, and devalued in their identity as a Black woman administrator at a PWI. As the phenomena unfolded, the researcher clearly saw a picture of African American practitioners not being retained as employees on predominantly White campuses due to the burdens of extra work associated with Black Tax, not being able to present as their authentic selves, and because of their experiences with Microaggressions. These experiences make it difficult for the university to retain Black women employees, and for those employees to feel supported enough to stay. If this unwelcoming behavior continues, universities may find that the campus climate not only impacts its African American women employees, but also the allure of admissions for Black students, regardless of gender.

The participants reported having to monitor how and when they talked in a meeting, even while being at a director-level position or above. This type of self-monitoring can have an impact on self-efficacy for African American women. The women shared times where they would voice an opinion or suggestion only to be ignored, or for the idea to be commandeered by a White male colleague and deemed credible. The literature supports this feeling of “voicelessness,” adding that acts of ignoring and exclusionary behavior lead to employees feeling devalued (Young, Anderson, Stewart, 2015).

This study showed that African American women administrators in Student Affairs are not supported as they should be as practitioners. Based on literature accounts and testimonies of the participants, they feel overworked and undervalued. They further questioned if they were working in vain, as they did not receive expressed acknowledgment of a job well done or experience promotion. The identity politics that the participants endured led to the attrition of Black staff members, with all but one participant starting a job search during the study. The four participants that were searching have now started new administrator positions, on a new campus, with the exception of one person who was internally promoted.

Conclusion

Black women have long contributed to higher education in general, and outnumber their Black male counterparts in being credentialed (Griffin et al., 2013; Wilder et al., 2013) and in sheer numbers in representation on campus (Johnson, 2017), yet they are missing in critical leadership roles. While this study utilized a small sample and may not be generalizable to all Black women, the findings provide significant insight into a population that is understudied. As such, there is still much-needed research on African American women’s experiences in higher education (Jones, 2013; Winkle-Wagner, 2015). It is critical to give voice to this population, and acknowledge the impact that is evidenced on college campuses across the nation and in global context, due to their presence and professional contributions.

Giving voice to African American women can be done through a review of hiring practices, parity in promotion, time considerations in support of non-mandated mentoring of students of color, and funding for professional development and mentoring experiences. Higher education has to question what message are we sending to Black women administrators. This population remains largely in lower-level positions at universities, stagnated in their career ascension, stifled by blockades for merely showing up as themselves (Lewis, 2017; Patitu and Hinton, 2003). Retention practices need to be put into place to ensure that African American women are retained once they are hired for a position. In an effort to create a structural change on campuses, there needs to be a commitment to foster an environment that is conducive to the advancement of African American women administrators in higher education. However, many Black women are exposed to identity politics, merely because of their levels of melanin. Higher education has to acknowledge that there is a Black Tax that African American women have to experience that their non-Black counterparts do not endure. Their emotional and physical lives can only bear so much. They should be made to feel comfortable and supported to show up as their authentic selves in how they dress, the hairstyles they select, and to have a voice and seat at the proverbial table. This should all be done without the weight of microaggressions. Those daily insults, jabs, and undermining, whether intentional or unintentional, have far greater impacts, as they are cumulative in nature. Black administrators must feel a sense of belongingness, welcomed, and supported before they want to seek out leadership positions and become socially and professionally integrated on campus (Grant, 2012). Higher education needs to dedicate time and attention to the experiences that lead to the retention of Black women administrators in higher education. Connected to Black women is a pipeline to the future of education. These women have served in a variety of capacities as administrators, act as retention support for students of color, and have advanced practices across student affairs. Employing inclusionary practices will aid in the retention of Black women as campus administrators. It is critical now, more than ever, that there is a concerted effort to recognize the value of Black women’s contributions to their respective campus and to higher education.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

ORCID iD

Crasha V Townsend

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