“Reclaiming My Time” Amid Organizational Change: A Dialectical Approach to Support the Thriving and Career Development for Faculty at the Margins

Abstract

The Problem The faculty in academia is slowly diversifying, yet individuals who identify as women, people of Color, and/or LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning) remain underrepresented. Racism, sexism, and heterosexism in the workplace, and intersections of identity and academic rank frequently marginalize women, people of Color, and LGBTQ faculty in the academy. The Solution Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD) offers the conceptual tools necessary for institutions of higher education to engage in meaningful disruption to benefit faculty on the margins. In this article, the authors provide recommendations for organizational and systemic changes that can create new space and opportunities for marginalized faculty. The Stakeholders The recommendations offered herein can aid academic leaders including department chairs, centers for faculty development, and faculty that have the potential to transform institutional cultures and climates.

Enslavement and the Foundations of Human Resource Development: Covert Learning, Consciousness Raising, and Resisting antiBlack Organizational Goals

“…Other studies have shown that efforts to facilitate interracial dialog can unfairly expect people of color to educate whites on racism, precluding those perpetuating racism from meaningful engagement and taking accountability (James-Gallaway, 2020; Scott, 2018). Still, other strands of research document how organizations expect high levels of service from minoritized employees relative to diversity while undervaluing the effort these initiatives require (Brissett, 2020; Davis et al, 2020; Joseph, 2011). Additionally, Hartman’s (1997) research documenting the labor enslaved individuals expended performing gaiety or enacting what she terms “contented subjugation” should alert HRD professionals concerned with racial injustice to the emotional labor required of Black employees who feel pressured to feign feeling included and engaged at work—pressures organizations can amplify when reactively establishing DEI efforts in response to internal reporting or external scrutiny.…”

Just because it don't look heavy, don't mean it ain't: An intersectional analysis of Black women's labor as faculty during COVID

“…After reviewing literature, as researcher-participants, we committed to narrating our experiences as NTT Black women faculty to contribute to the broader discourse of faculty labor and Black women faculty experiences. We engaged in a longitudinal research study that began in 2014 resulting in numerous published works (see Boss et al, 2019Boss et al, , 2021aBoss et al, , 2021bDavis et al, 2020;Porter et al, 2020). Through our longitudinal research, we have centered our personal and academic trajectories across several NTT and TT academic appointments at different institutions.…”

“…United States Congresswoman Maxine Waters popularized the phrase "reclaiming my time" (ABC News, 2017) to name how others were treating her during congressional hearings by interrupting and disrespecting her time and voice. In their article of minoritized faculty experiences, Davis et al (2020) articulated, "In adopting this phrase, we are not merely alluding to asserting power over seconds, minutes, and hours; we also encourage marginalized faculty to reclaim their energy, resources, and balance which are stolen by the demands and culture of academia" (p. 24). In other words, Black women's labor consists of more than how our time is allocated among research, teaching, advising, service, and administrative responsibilities.…”

An editorial in three parts

“…I would like to lie and say that adult education and human resource development (HRD) might respond to Russia's war of aggression with research that will help strengthen the Ukrainian resistance, but I do not think that is actually going to happen. And I would like to lie and say I believe that the outpouring of writing regarding racial justice since Floyd's murder (Alexander, 2022; Bell et al., 2021; Bohonos, 2021a, 2021b; Bohonos & James‐Gallaway, 2022; Bohonos & Sisco, 2021; Davis et al., 2020; Henry, 2021; James‐Gallaway & Turner, 2021; Lewellen & Bohonos, 2021; McCluney et al., 2021; Muzanenhamo & Chowdhury, 2021; Rosser‐Mims et al., 2020; Rudel et al., 2021; Sisco, 2020; Sisco et al., 2021; Wicker, 2021) is moving us quickly toward a more racially just society, but I cannot pretend to be that naïve.…”