Surviving British Academia in the time of COVID‐19: A critical autoethnography of a woman of color

Abstract

This critical autoethnography is an account of my experiences as a woman of color (WoC) academic at a predominantly White institution in the times of COVID-19 and the consequential turn to online teaching and learning. It reflects on how the pandemic has exacerbated my experiences of discrimination, marginalization, isolation, and the struggles to find a balance between my personal and professional identities. Guided by intersectionality, the article explores the ways in which multiple forms of inequality are perpetuated within academia through my own lived experiences. It also explores the ways in which I, as a WoC and an early career academic (ECA), learned to navigate the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, and motherhood amid the pandemic. In writing this article, my hope is to adjoin the voices of WoC in British Academia calling for an urgently needed open dialog with those in positions of power. K E Y W O R D Sacademia, COVID-19 pandemic, critical autoethnography, ethnicity, gender, intersectionality, motherhood, race, women of color PROLOGUE I wrote and rewrote this article while sitting at my dining table in my 50 m 2 (538 sq. ft.) flat, where I spent most of the COVID-19 lockdowns. In writing, I felt compelled to reflect on my feelings of apprehension, anger, frustration, and exhaustion. In only a few months of my appointment as a permanent lecturer in a British higher education institution, the "system faced a sudden transition to remote teaching and learning" (Malisch et al., 2020, p. 15738) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The story I tell here is about my experiences during the pandemic. But for the reader to understand these experiences and their implications, I must first tell the story of my experiences before the pandemic; experiences that mirror many who preceded me, and certainly many who will follow. Despite feeling fortunate to be one of the few PhD graduates who find a career in British Academia, I am stumped by the inequalities I must endure. I was the first woman of color (WoC) appointed, and the least paid among all newly hired-both male and female in 2019. This is in addition to experiencing microaggressions, marginalization, dismissal, and other unpleasant situations. I share these experiences with the intent of encouraging academics from underrepresented populations to persevere.

White capitalism within communities of craftivism: mask making and health maintenance disparities during COVID-19

“…Concerns exist when it comes to cultural differences in response to COVID-19 (Yap et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2022;Lu, 2023;Rowland et al, 2023), the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color (Fortuna et al, 2020), and the labor of women of color during the pandemic (Elhinnawy, 2022;Blell et al, 2023;Flores Sanchez and Kai, 2023;Melaku and Beeman, 2023). In addition to institutional care, we noted how wellintentioned reorganization of labor in the form of alternative economic systems can also result in discriminatory impacts.…”

“…COVID exacerbated systemic and institutionalized racism and sexism as seen through reported fears of similar medical abuses such as Tuskegee (Zhou et al, 2022), disproportionate risk factors COVID-19 on communities of color (Fortuna et al, 2020), and increased in service expectations and isolation of women and mothers of color during the pandemic (Elhinnawy, 2022;Blell et al, 2023;Flores Sanchez and Kai, 2023;Melaku and Beeman, 2023). I (author 2) too considered the impact of creating masks to mitigate the limitations many faced due to the limited supply of the coveted N95 masks.…”

Forced change: Pandemic pedagogy and journalism education

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Decolonising the curriculum: students’ perspectives in criminology

“…In the UK, at best, change mostly features design and reading lists (Grant 2020). UK Universities use equality and diversity statements to promote a seemingly diverse campus to prospective students, but they do not dedicate the human or financial resources to tackle inequalities (Elhinnawy 2022). If we are to push for meaningful change, we need to think about, not only what we teach, but how we teach it, and criticise it.…”