Introduction and Overview: New and Continuing Challenges and Opportunities for Black Women in the Academy

SITTING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE: Fieldnotes from Women of Color in Anthropology

“…In both of these problematic encounters, the underlying issue is the ideological chasm between “black woman” and “professor.” This distance, one that results in WOC often being marginalized within the academy, is a structural issue in academia as a whole and within anthropology in particular. Making the case that WOC in the academy are structurally disadvantaged, Agathangelou and Ling () argue that our raced, classed, and gendered identities lay outside of tacit understandings of the label “professor” (see also Bonner and Thomas ; Gregory ; Medina and Luna ; Nieves‐Squire ; Thomas and Hollenshead ; Turner ). This association of “professor” with “white male” is so strong that we, and fellow WOC in the academy, are often addressed as “Miss” (or “Ms.”) or by our first names by students, while white male colleagues are called “Dr.” or “Professor”—a misstep we are bound to correct, despite the likelihood that it will reinforce the notion of an aggressive or “angry” black woman.…”

Literature Conceptualizing Women in Community Colleges: 1997–2007

“…In 1998, the predominant focus of the literature was on faculty topics including full-time versus part-time employment, sources of stress, retention strategies, and changing faculty and presidential compositions (Bayer & Braxton, 1998;Box, 1998;Clark, 1998;Finkelstein, Seal, & Schuster, 1998;Schneider, 1998;Thompson & Dey, 1998;Todd & Baker, 1998;Townsend, 1998;Vaughan & Weisman, 1998). Articles published in 2001 and 2003 focused on the climate for female faculty, perspectives of women as presidents, notions of leadership, faculty roles, and the status of women and minorities among community college faculty (Bonner, 2001;Bonner & Thomas, 2001;Clery, 2001;Eddy, 2003;Gregory, 2001Gregory, , 2003Hagedorn & Laden, 2001;Holmes, 2001;Hubbard & Smith, 2003;McFarling & Neuschatz, 2003;Perna, 2003;Stephenson, 2001;Wolgemuth et al, 2003). Articles published in 2007 followed a similar theme, examining the status of women faculty and leaders and the perspectives of women with children (Boyer, 2007;Hagedorn, 2007;Smith, 2007;Townsend & Twombly, 2007;Wolf-Wendel, Ward, & Twombly, 2007).…”

“…In addition, participants selected employment at a community college to avoid the unreasonable work and research expectations typically seen at four-year institutions (Wolf-Wendel et al). However, a number of studies also found that women in community colleges report facing stress, anxiety, pressure, promotion concerns, or challenges juggling family, work, and community responsibilities (Bonner & Thomas, 2001;Clark, 1998;Smith, 2007;Wolf-Wendel et al).…”

The Status of Women in Social Work Education: A Follow-Up Study

“…Other forms of gender discrimination have been documented in the higher education literature, including the objectification of faculty women; messages that female faculty do not deserve the same privileges as their male counterparts; unconscious bias or assumptions of inferiority or gender roles; use of sexist language; denial that sexism exists or denial of specific examples of it; and institutional discrimination or microaggressions (Vaccaro, 2010). Additional forms of discrimination are experienced by social work faculty related to gender and race (Bent-Goodley & Sarnoff, 2008; Bonner & Thomas, 2001; Vakalahi, Starks, & Hendricks, 2007; Zamani, 2003), age (Carr et al, 2000), and sexual orientation (Chonody, Woodford, Brennan, Newman, & Wang, 2014; Woodford, Brennan, Gutierrez, & Luke, 2013).…”