Perspectives on Career Advancement Among African American Women Leaders in STEM: A Single Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative, single-case study with embedded units was to explore the opportunities and challenges African American women faced while having successfully ascended the corporate ladder in STEM fields. Qualitative data from six semi-structured interviews, reflective journaling, and archival data on career trajectories and labor statistics of African American women in the STEM industry were collected and triangulated to answer the central research question. This study was grounded in theories that included two key concepts: (a) Bourdieu’s (1977b) concept of social capital and (b) Collins’ (2015) concept of intersectionality. Three identified themes were revealed from the thematic analysis of data: (a) the importance of mentorship, (b) the sense of self or belonging, and (c) success strategies: overcoming the barriers. This study’s results indicate that African American women in STEM fields successfully overcame obstacles to break the discriminatory barriers they faced while progressing toward diversity and inclusion goals that afforded them leadership opportunities. This study may drive positive social change by highlighting the benefits of diversity and inclusion and equal opportunities that promote and support the value of processes to advance African American women to executive-level positions.