Lots of Talk, But Nothing Formal: Exploring Administrators’ Sensemaking about the Recruitment and Retention of Women of Color Faculty in STEM

Abstract

Women of color (WOC) faculty are vastly underrepresented in STEM departments and continue to face daunting challenges that impact their recruitment, retention, and promotion. Research demonstrates that the underrepresentation of women of color STEM faculty is occasioned by numerous factors, including structural and systematic issues such as chilly climate, unwelcoming policies, and lack of concerted efforts in STEM departments. However, research on the perspectives of administrators and their sensemaking of issues impacting the access to and success of women of color STEM faculty in the professoriate has been largely unexplored. Thus, this study explored how institutional administrators, including Deans, Department Chairs, Chief Diversity Officers, and ADVANCE Project Directors make sense of factors that inhibit and facilitate the recruitment, retention, and promotion of early-career women of color STEM faculty and how they support (directly and indirectly) their access to and success within these roles. We present our findings about administrators’ sensemaking in alignment with the purpose of our research. We conclude that administrators' involvement in ensuring that systematic and structural barriers inhibiting the hiring and progress of women of color STEM faculty are alleviated is significant to ensuring that the professoriate mirrors their student population.