Description:
There has been a national focus on the disparities that Black women experience in the workplace. As a testament to this, one of the largest investment banking enterprises in the world, Goldman Sachs, announced this week that they have pledged to invest $10 billion over the next decade in an initiative to improve the economic standing of Black women, which will include job creation as a focus area.
Despite legislation, affirmative action, and programs in diversity intervention, there remains a universal underrepresentation of Black women in senior leadership positions in higher education broadly (Beckwith, Carter, Peters, 2016), even though they earn the majority of the degrees awarded to all Black students. Black women leaders at predominately white institutions are often positioned in marginal roles like coordinators or managers, and are not completely integrated into senior roles that give them greater decision-making power (Gable, 2011).
Building a diverse leadership pipeline can be advantageous for all sectors of the workforce, but promoting Black women to senior roles has not been given the attention needed. The advancement of Black women into senior leadership roles has continued to be stagnant, even with the amount of them in management and professional positions increasing (Pace, 2018).
Currently, only a small percentage of Black women serve as presidents of HBCUs. More specifically, there is literature suggesting that race and gender discrimination towards Black women is not confined by institution type, and that some of the same issues plaguing Black women in predominantly white institutions (PWIs), exist within HBCUs as well (Bonner, 2001; Gasman, 2007; Kennedy, 2012).
There are a greater number of Black women who work as leaders at PWIs that operate in the mid-level ranks of higher education (Frazier, 2011). They obtain mid-level positions like directors or faculty (House, Fowler, Thornton & Francis, 2007), however, fewer of them hold high-ranking senior or executive level administrative positions, such as vice presidents, provosts, or presidents. Post-secondary institutions can no longer afford to ignore the racial and gender disparities in senior-level administrative positions (Smith, 2015). Black women are in a “double jeopardy,” which is an added effect of being Black and a woman (Berdahl & Moore, 2006)
Research shows that Black women need role models, mentors, support systems, and a determination for success in progressing to higher education senior leadership.
This would be a traditional presentation that would provide room for open discussion and questions from experts in this field.
This topic would appeal to primarily mid-level and senior level professionals of color, particularly Black women who are entering, considering entering, or who are already working in higher education leadership roles or desire to move into senior leadership.
Overall, this presentation will be designed to energize and actively engage session participants, demonstrate practical applications and real-life successes and outcomes, and include diverse, inclusive, and equitable emerging practices.
