AN INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH TO INVESTIGATING PERSISTENCE AMONG WOMEN OF COLOR TENURE-TRACK ENGINEERING FACULTY

Volume 27, Issue 1, 2021, pp. 57-84

DOI: 10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2020035632

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Ebony O. McGee
Department of Teaching and Learning, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, PMB Box 230 GPC, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA

Joyce B. Main
School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, 701 West Stadium Ave., West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA

Monica L. Miles
The Physician Assistant Education Association, Washington DC 20001, USA

Monica F. Cox
Department of Engineering Education, The Ohio State University, 244F Hitchcock Hall, 2070 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1278, USA

ABSTRACT

A growing body of literature has examined the underrepresentation of women of color (WOC) in university engineering programs, but its primary focus has been on the experiences of women students of color. Research on WOC in engineering is usually drawn from all of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which does little to illuminate the nuanced experiences of WOC within engineering culture. We sought a primary emphasis on persistence and perseverance rather than the typical examinations on mentoring, inventions, work-life balance, or the challenges that WOC face in engineering faculty environments. There are few studies on how and why women of color persist in academia in the face of the intersection of racism and sexism. Using intersectionality as a theoretical framework and inductive qualitative analyses of interviews with 56 women of color who identified as Asian, Black, Latina, and/or multiracial, we analyzed the sources of support for their persistence. Asking which collective factors support WOC in general and which are unique to each of the racial/gender groups, we identified three major themes−persistence is aided by (1) supportive colleagues internal to the department or institution, (2) supportive colleagues external to the institution, and (3) the intersectional considerations of group-specific nuances shared by Black, Latina, and Asian women engineering faculty members. The implications suggest women of color thrive in departments with supportive faculty, proactive leadership, and a commitment to professional development. We outline specific racial group interventions that can be beneficial for Asian, Black, and Latina engineering faculty.

KEY WORDS: women of color, intersectionality, faculty, higher education, engineering, persistence, Asian faculty, Black faculty, Latina faculty, multicultural faculty

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