Creating an inclusive community for BIPOC faculty: women of color in academia

Abstract

Institutions of higher education are increasingly diverse with more women and people of color hired, but there remains much work to be done to ensure that underrepresented faculty feel supported in their careers, evaluated fairly for tenure and/or promotion, and made to feel appreciated and valued in their institutions. This perspective paper will review how interpersonal and institutional prejudice disadvantage women of color in academia in aspects of their professional responsibilities including teaching, mentoring students, research, and service. The combination of these challenges explains why women of color are not rewarded in the same way and do not advance as quickly in their academic careers compared to white men. After considering the subtle and direct ways that biases cause harm to women of color, we present recommendations to better support women of color in faculty roles with the goal of combating prejudice pertaining to both racial/ethnic and gender biases.