– Two main themes emerged from the data: (a) racial and gender challenges related to the computing sciences educational trajectory; and (b) a shared sense of isolation.
– Conflicts and integrations of racial, gender, and academic identities arose repeatedly as participants reported grappling with their self-identities as women of color in race- and gender-exclusive academic spaces. Although participants described their experiences as women of color in computing sciences in a variety of ways, the group’s consensus was that it is exceptionally challenging and difficult.
– Many participants indicated that ascertaining the root of maltreatment proved difficult, wondering whether this treatment was based upon either their racial or gendered identities.
– Identifying as a Black woman conjured a wealth of misperceptions and stereotypes regarding their academic identity as well as their intellectual capacity.
– Feelings of isolation were salient findings among the participants in this study. Social interaction with peers proved limited among study participants throughout their STEM education trajectories, particularly in STEM graduate degree programs.
– Computing science and other STEM faculty were particularly instrumental in creating an environment characterized by isolation and ostracization for this study’s participants.
– This study presented an unbridled view of the racialized and gendered experiences of African American women in pursuit of STEM education and success.
2014 - Intersectionality and STEM: The Role of Race and Gender in the Academic Pursuits of African American Women in STEM
This study utilizes intersectionality theory as a theoretical foundation to explore the role race and gender play in the STEM pursuits of African American women. The authors conceptualize this as the double bind (Ong et al., 2011) which consits of a set of “unique challenges minority women [face] as they simultaneously experienced sexism and racism in their STEM careers.”
All participants identified as “African American” or “Black” women, were enrolled full-time or were recently (in the last three years) in an academic computing program, and were no younger than 18 years of age and no older than 35 years of age. 15 African American women participants from a 2007 conference dedicated to African Americans in STEM were recruited and took part in this study.
The focus group lasted 90 minutes and was comprised of a series of closed and open-ended questions designed to gather information relative to the participants’ experiences, with specific attention to the roles gender and race play within their academic trajectories within the computing sciences.