Called to speak up: BIPOC women academics’ sense of power, calling and constructive voice

Abstract

Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) women academics face a paradox in higher education – tasked with championing diversity and critical inquiry, yet their voices are often silenced and their labour undervalued. This Interchanges piece examines how intersecting oppressions shape BIPOC women's sense of power, calling and capacity for constructive voice. Drawing from empirical and theoretical scholarship, we illustrate that despite systemic barriers, BIPOC women's calling motivates their intellectual activism to resist their collective marginalisation. However, this calling is frequently instrumentalised by institutions, where their services, particularly in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, mentorship and care work, are undervalued or unrecognised. We call for institutional reforms to acknowledge and redistribute this labour, ensuring that calling is sustained as empowerment rather than exploitation.