Creating a “Safe and Supportive Environment:” Mentoring and Professional Development for Recent Black Women Doctoral Graduates

Abstract

Formal structures that support doctoral student socialization are limited, while formal programs for Black women doctoral students specifically are even more scarce. The purpose of this research was to examine an early career professional development program for Black women doctoral students and its influence on the mentoring relationships developed by participants. We conducted individual interviews with six Black women who participated in the Research BootCamp®, an early career professional development program, as doctoral students. Two salient features of the program were identified, including its structure and intentional focus on intersectionality. Our findings also indicate that early career professional development provided opportunities for participants to develop sustainable mentoring relationships. The formal structure of the Research BootCamp® facilitated Black women doctoral students in developing mentoring networks through continued engagement with senior scholars and peers, provided social support, created outlets for professional development, built research capacity, and contributed to Black women’s overall socialization to the academy.

Interrogating Structural Racism in STEM Higher Education

“…Black STEM PhD students experienced (a) stresses and strains that made them question their qualifications; (b) racialized experiences that were often the source of stress, strain, and academic performance anxiety; (c) discordance between the racial makeup of their academic environments and their racialized engineering and computing identities, which appeared to exacerbate impostor phenomenon; and (d) proactive racialized coping mechanisms that took an emotional toll and fostered feelings of self-doubt . Thus, identifying supportive environments where Black STEM PhD students can thrive and not just simply suffer through the doctoral process is critical to their retention moving into STEM career trajectories (Ireland et al, 2018;Jones et al, 2015).…”

An Integrative Review of Sistah Circles in Empirical Research

“…Five educational groups and local or national organizations of Black women were categorized as professional sistah circles. Groups included the African American Women's Summit (West, 2017, 2019), Sisters of the Academy (Bertrand-Jones et al, 2015), Sistah Network (Allen & Joseph, 2018), as well as Sisters Mentoring Sisters (Green & King, 2001), all of which were facilitated by self-identified Black women and focused on supporting Black women in higher education at various stages—student or professional. Because of their focus, the groups were small in size and held at a university (40%, n = 2) or at a professional conference with large numbers of Black women attendees (60%, n = 3).…”

“…Overall, these groups were positively received by Black women (e.g., Green & King, 2001). The groups provided accountability for professional milestones, a professional network of mentors and peers, and space to discuss topics that were personally and professionally relevant (Bertrand-Jones et al, 2015; West, 2019). Group participants reported professional (e.g., workplace success) and psychosocial benefits (e.g., empowerment; Allen & Joseph, 2018).…”

“…Because of their focus, the groups were small in size and held at a university (40%, n = 2) or at a professional conference with large numbers of Black women attendees (60%, n = 3). Among those groups that reported the frequency and duration of their sistah circle gathering, two met once for a full day (West, 2017(West, , 2019, one met daily for seven full days (Bertrand-Jones et al, 2015), and one met for 60 min but the frequency of the gathering(s) was not reported (Green & King, 2001). The groups centered on topics, such as the structure of the university and its decision-making processes, personal development (e.g., spirituality and self-empowerment), financial planning, workplace mistreatment (e.g., racism and sexism), as well as ways to enhance one's work environment.…”

Black Feminist Wondaland

“…Asking these questions is paramount. Numerous scholars have identified ways to support Black women in higher education, including adequate mentorship, safe and supportive university environments, peer connections, and proactive coping mechanisms (Bertrand Jones et al, 2013;Bertrand Jones et al, 2015;Dortch, 2016;Hotchkins, 2017). Still, creating higher education spaces where Black women can live empowered and fulfilled existences requires those within higher education to be cognizant of Black women's liminal academic lives, as we struggle to survive in a world that means us harm (Cooper, 2020).…”