2023 Collaborative Network for Computing and Engineering Diversity (CoNECD)

Intersectionality: Professional identity formation and the success of women of color in higher education STEM disciplines

Presented at Session 6 - Track 1: Intersectionality: Professional identity formation and the success of women of color in higher education STEM disciplines

In summer 2021, the Florida Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (FL-AGEP) convened research bootcamps for doctoral scholars, postdoctoral scholars, and early career faculty women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The FL-AGEP Alliance addresses the issues of (1) advancing underrepresented women (URW) faculty in STEM, and (2) the retention of URW post-docs and graduate scholars for careers in academia. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) with the University of South Florida (USF) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Florida International University (FIU), Florida Memorial University (FMU), and Bethune Cookman University (B-CU) are the FL-AGEP Alliance institutions. As a result of the convening various misogynoir were expressed. Our team began to explore the research of the intersectionalities, success and professional identity of women of color to understand the needed paradigm shift to occur within the Academy.
It has been noted that Women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields accounted for 3.6%, 2.5%, and 1.2% of all assistant, associate, and full professors. Cultural and institutional barriers to the STEM disciplines continue for women in higher education. There is a paucity of resources, retention, promotion, and success for women scholars from marginalized groups, this study explores the professional identity formation, the role of entrepreneurial mindset, and coping strategies supporting the success of women in higher education STEM disciplines.
Purpose: Our presentation aims to (a) present a counter narrative to how “success” is defined by women of color faculty in STEM, (b) explore the role of professional identity and how it interpolates with social identities to shape their experience of success, and (c) catalog the sources of stress and support affecting success among women of color faculty in STEM disciplines.
Design/Method: Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, we conducted focus groups with women of color faculty in STEM disciplines across the US. Data was analyzed using CAQDAS code list to formalize the standard qualitative content analysis by a team of women of color higher faculty and staff in STEM disciplines. Data will be analyzed using both deductive and inductive analytic approaches.
Results: The result of the focus groups is that the Women faculty expressed various areas for marked improvement in how success is viewed as it relates to promotion. The preliminary findings speak to the research that would need to continue within the interviews.
Conclusions: This study contributes to the scant literature on the resources, retention, promotion, and success for women scholars from marginalized groups. We provide a counter narrative to previously established concepts of success by allowing the actors to define success in their own terms. Our findings can support practical approaches to women of color faculty retention, promotion, and overall success.

Authors

Dr. Saundra Johnson Austin http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6432-0896 University of South Florida [biography]

Dr. Saundra Johnson Austin has dedicated her career to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging of elementary, middle, and high school students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. Her research is grounded in the effective implementation of STEM curricula in urban middle schools. She has published and presented on STEM education and organizational change. Dr. Johnson Austin earned a BS in Civil Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and EdD in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California.

At the University of South Florida (USF) she leads the project coordination for the National Science Foundation Florida Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (FL-AGEP), a $2.4M award to Florida A&M University (with a subaward to USF and Virginia Tech), Bethune-Cookman University, Florida International, and Florida Memorial University. Also, Dr. Johnson Austin is the project coordinator and Co-Principal Investigator for Project Racism In School Exclusionary Suspensions (RISES), a $30k grant awarded to explore the suspensions of African American middle and high school students in Hillsborough and Pinellas County Florida.

Dr. Johnson Austin held positions as: math faculty at Academy Prep Center of Tampa; executive director of Curated PathwaysTM to Innovation; senior vice president for operations at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.; president and CEO of St. Michael’s High School; executive vice president of the Community Partnership for Lifelong Learning; executive director of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science; and Minority Engineering Program director at The Pennsylvania State University. She began her career as a cost engineering at Bechtel Power Corporation. In 2007 she founded Charis Consulting Group, LLC.

Dr. Johnson Austin was recognized by numerous organizations for her work in promoting equity and access to STEM education. Her most notable award is Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in Civil and Environmental Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of various STEM organizations including the United States White House endorsed initiative, Algebra by 7th Grade, and advisory committee member for the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s ‘Zero Barriers in STEM Education.’ Dr. Johnson Austin is currently the President of the American Association of University Women Tampa, Inc., consultant to the board for the Caribbean Community Association of Tampa, and Interim Treasurer for the Northeast STEM Starter Academy of Mount Vernon, NY. In addition, Dr. Johnson Austin is a member of the editorial review board for the Caribbean Educational Research Journal (CERJ). She also served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Michelle Bradham-Cousar Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Bradham-Cousar is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) who is translating her experience to make the university a more inclusive place for individuals with disabilities.

Dr. Bradham-Cousar is an assistant professor where she provides guidance, direction, mentoring to the next generation of students to enter the rehabilitation services field for people with physical and mental health disabilities. She has worked in the field of Rehabilitation Science for over 16 years serving individuals with disabilities.

She has served in the following roles: Southern Region Chair for the American Counseling Association (ACA), Bylaws Chair for the American Counseling Association (ACA), President of the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA) and President of the Florida Counseling Association (FCA).

Having been named “Counselor of the Year” in 2015 for her contributions to the field of rehabilitation and disabilities, Dr. Bradham-Cousar’s work mostly focuses on health disparities. This is reflected in her work with the Disability Competencies. She is currently working on research that relates to students with disabilities within the school system. Also, part of a collaborative effort she is working with various faculty members to find ways to learn and address how faculty with disabilities are successful within Academia.
Dr. Kemesha Gabbidon University of South Florida [biography]

Dr. Kemesha Gabbidon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida. Her scholarly interests include youth sexual health and health equity. Her research is theoretically grounded and applies an intersectional lens to investigating socio-political, cultural, and psychosocial influences on the health of the individual and their community. Dr. Gabbidon has published on pediatric HIV, HIV stigma, and culture and sexuality. Her current research is aimed at investigating intersectional stigma and how it affects HIV-related outcomes in Tampa Bay by applying participatory qualitative methods. Dr. Gabbidon also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Psychology including Cultural Competence, Program Evaluation, and Health Psychology.

Download paper (2.32 MB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session