Diversity, Equity & Inclusion within the Academy –Rhetoric or Impact? Experiences of Black Women DEI Leaders Post the 2020 Racial Reckoning

Black women leaders in higher education experience unique yet nuanced experiences within the academy that shape their access to leadership, impact their leadership journey, and influence perceptions of belonging. For Black women who hold the role of DEI leader at a predominately white institution (PWI) post the country’s 2020 racial reckoning and at the height of the influx of anti-DEI legislation; these lived experiences are amplified. As such, these amplified experiences create a unique phenomenon that is specific to the Black woman DEI leader serving at a PWI. The research question guiding this study is: have Black women DEI leaders navigating career progression in a PWI, post the social movement for racial justice, experienced an increased sense of belonging? To answer this question, this study focused on the lived experiences of discrimination, sense of belonging, and perceptions of institutional climate of this population amidst the backdrop of a contentious sociopolitical DEI climate and at the height of the anti-DEI legislation. This study collected data from 20 Black women higher education administrators who completed a Climate Survey and semi-structured interviews of three senior level DEI leaders. The Climate Survey was analyzed through frequency counts of Likert scaled questions and a deductive analysis of open-ended survey questions. Interview data were analyzed via a deductive and inductive coding scheme. The conceptual framework guiding this study consisted of intersectionality theory, Critical Race Theory, stereotype threat, and an emergent belonging framework which served as the interpretative lens for this study. Data analysis of this study rendered the quantitative data demonstrating that the majority of respondent continued to experience barred access to career advancement and identity discrimination post America’s 2020 racial reckoning. The themes and subthemes of the Climate Survey were: (1) Where Do I Belong: Perceptions of Climate, (1a) It’s Baked In: Institutional Culture and Norms, (1b) Code Switching a Necessity for Survival: Interactions with Others in Academia and (1c) The Struggle is Real: Frustration and Exhaustion All at the Same Time. Subsequent data analysis of the semi-structured interviews rendered the following themes: (1) Don’t “Dis” Me: Discrimination, Disrespect and Disregard and (2) Is it Just Me?: Hyper-Visibility and Invisibility. The study emphasized the relevance of the existing literature and research acknowledging that Black women administrators navigate leadership in predominately white spaces in higher education by normalizing the effects of systems within PWIs that perpetrate exclusion through resiliency. While these women describe challenging circumstances within their own lived experiences navigating their careers within the confines of a PWI, each of them, through resolute persistence, have managed to till the soil for a foundation to increase the representation of Black women within PWIs.