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3 Challenging Assumptions Around the Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of Women of Color in Higher Education
Pages 73-112

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From page 73...
... , Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHIs) , Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
From page 74...
... This chapter offers recommendations for intentional action that leaders in higher education can take to improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women students of color pursuing technology and computing degrees and women of color faculty in these fields. APPLYING AN INTERSECTIONAL LENS TO THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN OF COLOR IN HIGHER EDUCATION As discussed in Chapter 1, the committee used the critical race theory of intersectionality as an analytic framework to interpret evidence about the underrepresentation of women of color in technology and computing fields.
From page 75...
... These three statements are often heard in higher education to explain the underrepresentation of women of color in tech on campus, but in reality they excuse institutions from assessing the policies and practices that may lead to or perpetuate this underrepresentation. While few women of color pursue degrees and academic careers in tech disciplines, the structural and social factors that can deter them (e.g., admissions criteria, access to internet, insufficient financial aid, hostile culture, etc.)
From page 76...
... Through a multitude of structures and policies, higher education institutions have been established and maintained endowing certain individuals with power, financial support, and privilege provided they assimilate the cultural mores of the context. Those in power set the rules, standardize regulations, and maintain the status quo.
From page 77...
... Assumption: Women of Color Don't Pursue Tech Degrees Due to a Lack of Encouragement or Interest The number of women of color who graduate with computer science degrees is low.2 In 2018, women of color constituted 18 percent of the overall population in the United States; however, they make up less than 10 percent of all bachelor's degrees earned in computing, with Latinx women the most underrepresented in computing bachelor's degree completion rates relative to their population in postsecondary education. At the doctoral level, women earned 21 percent of all doctorates in computing with less than 5 percent awarded to Black, Latinx, Native American/Alaskan Native, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women (McAlear et al., 2018)
From page 78...
... Admissions criteria for many higher education institutions often include standardized test scores; however, research has demonstrated that racial and gender bias may show up in standardized tests in a number of ways (e.g., questions that use expressions that are more common in white society or use of a multiple choice format) and can underpredict future academic success at the postsecondary level (NEA, 2021; Sukumaran, 2020)
From page 79...
... CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS 79 FIGURE 3-1 Annual changes in computer science demographics between 1987 and 2018: MIDFIELD database analysis.
From page 80...
... . Andrea Delgado-Olson, founder and chair of Native American Women in Computing, discussed how the digital divide on reservations impacts students and communities, discussing how the needs of communities may differ since the nature of this challenge can differ by region and within regions.
From page 81...
... . During the 1990s and early 2000s, part-time enrollment grew for women in community colleges, with particularly strong increases for African American, Hispanic, and Asian American women (Reyes, 2011)
From page 82...
... Several presentations to the committee during its four public workshops in spring 2020 also highlighted the role of institutional climate and peer attitudes and how they affect the persistence of women of color. For example, Gregory Walton, associate professor of psychology at Stanford University, highlighted how the belief that one does not belong can become self-fulfilling.
From page 83...
... However, the committee did not attribute the greater participation of women of color in specific areas of computing solely to their interests. Rather, women may lean toward human-related computing areas because these areas afford fulfillment of communal goals or because they are where they see role models, receive mentoring, or simply feel welcomed and thus face fewer social pains (Corbett and Hill, 2015; Ong et al., 2020)
From page 84...
... . The communal goal congruity perspective suggests that an important aspect of the decision of whether or not to pursue a career in a STEM field is the belief that STEM careers do not fulfill communal goals.
From page 85...
... . Assumption: Women of Color Are Willingly Opting Out of Academic Careers in Tech Although the proportion of science degrees granted to women has increased, there is a persistent disparity between the number of women receiving doctoral FIGURE 3-2  Samples of user interface prototypes designed by African American middle school girls.
From page 86...
... Focusing on individual choice at the exclusion of systemic challenges maintains important blind spots. The following sections elaborate on some of these blind spots regarding institutional structures, such as gatekeeping, workplace hostility, lack of access to power, and institutional policies that may negatively impact women of color.
From page 87...
... Black women, for example, are reported as being seen as defiant, angry, or incompetent, and Asian American women are often perceived as not being natural leaders or as being eternal foreigners. Awareness of these stereotypes causes many women to change their behaviors in the workplace to avoid these types of characterizations.
From page 88...
... . Although a growing number of women have begun to occupy top-level leadership positions, research suggests that these women are likely to be promoted into positions of leadership where the risk of failure is high or in times of crisis -- a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff (Ryan et al., 2016)
From page 89...
... which take up time that faculty without such obligations can use for research and publishing. The small numbers of women faculty of color compel them to serve simultaneously as a role model for their profession, race, and gender.
From page 90...
... Although many higher education institutions state that they have made progress in increasing diversity, evidence suggests that there are caveats to this assertion. Assumption: Increasing Diversity Numbers Equals Success Much of this report indicates how progress in the advancement, recruitment, and retention has been slow and, in some cases, nonexistent for women of color in tech.
From page 91...
... Using data from IPEDS,7 their analysis reveals how certain all-women colleges that are predominantly white institutions have impressive rates graduating certain groups of women of color with a computer science degree (Daily et al., 2020)
From page 92...
... This narrative presents a partial truth that further troubles the use of the phrase "underrepresented." IMPROVING THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN OF COLOR IN HIGHER EDUCATION Although women of color face significant obstacles along the multiple paths they may follow to a career in tech, recognition of these structural barriers provides an opportunity to mitigate or eliminate roadblocks that can stymie their trajectories and implement policies and practices that allow women of color to thrive and reach their full potential. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the
From page 93...
... discusses six main themes that emerged in her examination of the experiences of Black women faculty who have persisted in the field of computing education. The first two relate to early exposure, encouragement, and validation: • "I am set apart": Participants described feeling encouraged and receiving positive reinforcement from parents, teachers, and school administrators.
From page 94...
... Higher education institutions have an opportunity to help create opportunities where women of color can engage with computing at an early age -- for example, by creating outreach programs, camps during summer or other school vacations, and after-school programs. Such programs can foster positive environments where girls and women of color are able to challenge stereotypical views of success and gain access and experiences in computing prior to entering postsecondary education.
From page 95...
... . Transitions from community colleges to four-year institutions or from minority-serving institutions to predominantly white institutions are two further examples of opportunities to target supports for women of color.
From page 96...
... More studies are needed to study academic advising using an intersectional lens. Create Supportive Inclusive Environments While the number of women of color in academic programs in technology and computing is low, this is not due to lack of qualification or interest in pursuing careers in tech.
From page 97...
... . It is also important to note that women of color are underrepresented in positions of leadership in higher education institutions.
From page 98...
... Practices implemented as part of this approach included changing admissions standards (e.g., changing the evaluation process for transfer students, making the SAT optional for admission) ; increasing understanding of DEI among students, faculty, and administrators to create a culture of "collective intentionality" across departments; developing an "Advocates and Allies" program for incoming freshmen and transfer students to facilitate transition, retention, and graduation; transforming existing sophomore and junior level curriculum and providing faculty with guidance on how to design an inclusive curriculum; and working to strengthen students' aspirations and identities as engineers by inviting speakers who are "role models of difference" and who have impacted society and policy in their professional careers (Sukumaran, 2020)
From page 99...
... . HBCUs, for example, have shown disproportionate success in graduating African American students, particularly in the STEM fields, which has been attributed in part to their strong academic and social support networks and culturally responsive teaching approaches (NASEM, 13  For more information see https://rewritingthecode.org/ (accessed October 7, 2021)
From page 100...
... Regarding partnerships between higher education and industry, presenters to the committee discussed the importance of symbiotic relationships. Higher education institutions have a unique opportunity in these partnerships not only to learn from industry and help to shape curriculum that can help students to succeed, but also to help equip industry with a better understanding of their students and the training and supports needed to help women of color successfully transition from higher education into the workforce (Gates, 2020; Washington, 2020)
From page 101...
... . Widen Recruitment Efforts Changing recruitment efforts to access a broader pool of candidates is a key strategy for addressing the low numerical representation of women in STEM fields.
From page 102...
... This was true both at the student and the faculty level. In cases where a single department does not have the resources to hire a cohort, higher education institutions can facilitate the coordination of hiring across departments or colleges to create cohorts of women of color who can support one another across the institution.
From page 103...
... Capture the Experiences of Women of Color in Higher Education An overarching finding in the committee's examination of the research literature and evidence presented by experts at the committee's series of public workshops is the need for data related to women of color that is disaggregated on a number of dimensions in order to better understand both their unique and shared experiences. Although the committee understands the challenges and privacy concerns that must be considered when using small datasets, there are a multitude of examples of other qualitative research methodologies that are valid alternatives to collect data on small sample sizes, such as case studies and autoethnographies.
From page 104...
... These data should be used to inform the design and implementation of the following processes, but not limited to • Culturally responsive review processes of promotion and tenure guide lines and academic review processes to ensure that the qualitative and quantitative research produced by women of color in tech is equally valued at the departmental, college, and university levels. • Collection, analysis, and presentation of disaggregated data of tech de partments and college environments to institutional leaders.
From page 105...
... RECOMMENDATION 3-3. Higher education leaders should widen recruitment efforts to identify women of color candidates to join their computer science, computer engineering, and other tech de partments as students and faculty, with increased consideration of those from two-year community colleges and minority-serving institutions, and should develop retention strategies focused on supporting these students and faculty during transitions to their institutions.
From page 106...
... N 2016. Our counter-life herstories: The experiences of African American women faculty in US computing education. Doctoral dissertation.
From page 107...
... 2020. Addressing Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech: Perspectives of Native American Women in Computing.
From page 108...
... Effective practices within organizations to re tain and advance women of color in STEM. Presentation made at the public workshop of the Com mittee on Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech, virtual, April 2020.
From page 109...
... Presentation made at the public workshop of the Committee on Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech, Washington, DC, February 2020. Metoyer, R., M
From page 110...
... 2015. The attitudes of African American middle school girls toward computer science: Influences of home, school, and technology use.
From page 111...
... 2006. Native American women in computing.


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