A tale of two universities: An intersectional approach to examining microaggressions amongst undergraduate engineering students at an HBCU and a PWI

Abstract

The current study utilized the intersectionality theory to analyze microaggressions towards engineering undergraduate underrepresented gender and racial minority students. In this study, participants were sampled from intersecting identity groups (Asian female, Asian male, Black female, Black male, Hispanic female, Hispanic male, White female) at two institutional settings: 1) a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and 2) a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). The study's analysis examined microaggressions in the context of undergraduate engineering programs at both sites, an HBCU and a PWI. The results suggested that a higher frequency of microaggressions took place at the PWI than the HBCU. The most frequently identified microaggressions included disjointed race and gender dialogue, hidden language, projected stereotypes, an ascription of intelligence, silence, and marginalization. The paper aims to increase awareness of the prevalence and varying types of microaggressions experienced between the sites. These results may influence policies and educational practices to meet the needs of underrepresented minority students in engineering. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (1828172 and 1828559). Collaborative Research: An Intersectional Perspective to Studying Microaggressions in Engineering Programs.