Mentoring to subvert racialized‐gendered spaces: Critical perspectives of black women academic administrators

Abstract

Black cis/trans women faculty face many challenges that impact their access to and success within administrative positions. We use critical race feminism (CRF) to highlight the role of mentoring in subverting multiple axes of power Black women encounter along the pathway to academic administration.

Yes She Can: Examining the Career Pathways of Black Women in Higher Education Senior Leadership Position

“…Furthermore, institutional barriers that obstruct the career advancement of Black women to senior leadership positions in colleges include "a lack of job advancement opportunities, a lack of mentors, or being presented with only stereotypical female worker challenges" (Kephart & Schumacher, 2005, p. 4). It is challenging to match Black women in a mentor-mentee relationship, given that there are few peers in midlevel to senior-level positions (Cobb-Roberts & Esnard, 2023;Crawford & Smith, 2005;Holmes et al, 2007;Jackson & Harris, 2007;Smith & Crawford, 2007). In their study on Black female college and university presidents, Jackson and Harris (2007) argued that the "limited number of Black American female college and university presidents makes it difficult for aspiring leaders to find role models who have managed to break through the barriers of race and gender" (p. 119).…”