ACE Conference: More Research Needed
on Experiences of Minority Women Leaders
By Molly Nance
LONG BEACH, Calif.
Higher education is seeing a gradual change in the face of its leadership, as minority women are increasingly emerging as directors, associate directors, vice provosts and presidents of academic institutions. With each woman’s success, there’s a desire to keep their numbers rising and to create a network of support.
During the third annual Women of Color Summit, sponsored by the American Council on Education, women from all over the country discussed their career objectives, leadership strategies and research findings.
The overall consensus of the summit was that more research needs to be done on the career advancement and leadership of minority women. Quantitative research on the small but rapidly growing community of minority women leaders is lacking, but there are some qualitative reviews. For example, Dr. Kandace Hinton, an assistant professor of educational leadership, administration and foundations at Indiana State University, examined the experiences of five Black women in higher education.
“I wanted them to know that I was interested in knowing where they started. I always think people have a story, a story behind the glory,” she said. “Career development is an evolutionary process, rather than a static phase.”
Dr. Patricia G. Parker, an associate professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina, examined 15 Black women to see how their corporate leadership styles differed from the traditional styles of White men and women. She noted that higher education has historically been uninterested in learning about the leadership experiences of minority women.
In both Hinton and Parker’s studies, the Black women tended to hail from middle-class socioeconomic backgrounds and retold stories of segregation.
