Role, Representation, Resistance, and Response: Black Women Senior Leaders in Predominantly White Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

Although notably underrepresented in role and research, Black women bring a strong presence to higher education institutions—leading academic, research, and business operations from senior and executive roles. Black women senior leaders serve as change agents strategically leading their organizations to become better, stronger, and more effective in supporting the health, longevity, and competitiveness of their institutions.

This dissertation study explored how Black women senior leaders experience their place in higher education, including their ability to navigate and lead in traditionally White male spaces of leadership. This research sought to understand Black women’s leadership experiences and practices including challenges and resistance to their leadership and how they address them, and how their social identities inform and impact these experiences. The study used a broad, emic focused qualitative approach informed by the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality, critical race theory, and gendered racism to explore the experiences of Black women senior leaders in predominantly White institutions.

This study found multiple ways Black women senior leaders’ intersectional identities influence and shape their approach to leadership and their leadership experiences. It explored how Black women’s leadership is perceived and responded to in their institutions, including support, allyship, and resistance to who they are and how they lead as Black women. Despite institutional signals of support for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, Black women senior leaders continue to experience significant burdens and challenges unique to their roles and work. The findings from this study inform Black women leaders’, both current and aspiring, with considerations for navigating their careers in predominantly White higher education institutions, as well as institutional efforts to attract, promote, and retain diverse talent through representing the realities Black women senior leaders negotiate in their positions.