Starting at the Crossroads: Intersectional Approaches to Institutionally Supporting Underrepresented Minority Women Stem Faculty

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the opportunities and challenges that emerge from an intersectional approach to achieving equity through institutional change, focusing particularly on the persistent lag faced by underrepresented minority (URM) women in U.S. academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Our specific goals in this paper are twofold: (1) to contribute to current theoretical models and research on enabling URM women in academic STEM fields, and (2) to advance broader current discussions concerning how intersectional approaches might be applied to shape institutional transformation. In order to do this, we first explore the historical and contextspecific issues that illustrate how the relative lack of progress made by URM women faculty in STEM is at least partially driven by institutional structures that cannot fully address the experiences of persons with multiple subordinated identities. We then employ current literature on intersectionality and organizational change to theorize four ways that intersectional approaches might specifically help shape more successful institutional interventions. By offering some possibilities presented by an intersectional approach to institutional transformation, we suggest helpful starting points for mobilizing intersectionality in the service of structurally supporting the advancement and success of URM women in STEM.

Double jeopardy in astronomy and planetary science: Women of color face greater risks of gendered and racial harassment

“…Women of color faculty in STEM are also more likely to experience the dominant culture of their disciplines as outsiders, with their views validated less than the dominant group [ Rios and Stewart , ]. Further, the number of women of color science faculty has recently decreased, even while the number of white women science faculty has increased [ Armstrong and Jovanovic , ]. These marginalities are further compounded by power differentials, as women of color are more likely to be junior in rank compared to those with majority identities [ National Science Foundation ( NSF ), ].…”

Sexual harassment in academe is underreported, especially by students in the life and physical sciences

“…women are underrepresented in STEM (e.g., [57][58][59][60]). Low representation of women, in addition to higher rates of experiencing sexual harassment, may thus create a difficult environment for women in STEM.…”

Cautioning Against the Co‐optation of Intersectionality in Gender Mainstreaming

“…This framework has been recognized as a promising equity tool (e.g. Mendell, Dyck, Ndumbe-Eyoh, & Morisson, 2012;Palència, Malmusi, & Borrell, 2014;National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy, 2015) and has taken up in various policy-related contexts including violence (Learning Network, 2015), mental health and substance use (Hunting, Grace, & Hankivsky, 2015), social work (Mulé, 2015), homelessness (Zufferey, 2017), human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome policy (Jordan-Zachery, 2013), indigenous policies (Clark, 2012;Hankivsky & Jordan-Zachery, 2019), and the representation of minority women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (Armstrong & Jovanovic, 2015). Despite the recognition across many sectors that intersectionality-informed frameworks are necessary to capture the complexity of people's lives, they have not yet permeated the international development field.…”