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LaVant, B., Anderson, J., & Tiggs, J. (1997). Retaining African American men through mentoring initiatives. New Directions For Student Services, 80, 43-53.

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Sanders, C. J. (2013). Preaching Messages We Never Intended. Theology & Sexuality, 19(1), 21-35.

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Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286.

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Intensive, semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions were employed to facilitate one-sided conversations about the experiences of women and black male higher education professionals with microaggressions.

Higher education professionals who worked at a large university during the 2014-2015 school year, including:

Research participants answered open-ended questions about their definition of, experiences with, and feeling about microaggressive language and behaviors they experienced at a large, research university. •  What behaviors, comments, looks, or gestures do you notice

from your colleagues? •  Can you detail a professional experience in which your

effectiveness as a professional was called into question because you are a woman or black male? How did you feel or react?

•  Can you detail a professional experience in which your professional knowledge and experience was called into question because you are a woman or black male? How did you feel or react?

•  During your professional experience, do you think your colleagues have used language or behavior to encourage or diminish confidence in your professional ability? Please explain.

•  What impact do these kinds of language or behavior have on your authority as a higher education professional?

•  How does your response impact your authority as a higher education professional?

•  What is your understanding of the term “microaggressions”? •  Do you believe you’ve experienced microaggressions in your

professional life?

This poster presentation illustrates the lived experiences of female and black male professionals in higher education with microaggressive language and behaviors. •  Define microaggressions; •  Examines how participants perceived their experiences

throughout their careers; and •  Provides women and black male professionals in higher

education administration a voice regarding their professional experiences.

•  During the nineteenth century, educational institutions for women and, later, for blacks emerged as a means by which to educate women and blacks in their respective socially constructed professional and social roles and by which to improve individual and collective social and political status, as well as a means by which to improve collective self-perception.

•  During the 1960s and 1970s, female and black students protesting the existing social order (including colleges and universities) as hostile or repressive environments (Nelson 2000) demanded increased numbers of female and black professionals in positions of authority to encourage, mentor, and promote them within the postsecondary educational environment (Aldridge & Young 2000).

•  While student demands created space for female and black professionals, the intentional inclusion of women and black men in the faculty and administration in America’s predominantly white institutions is still emerging (NCES, 2014). o  1.5 million full-time instructional faculty in Fall 2011:

•  35% white female •  6% black

•  Microaggressions are languages and behaviors shaped by socially-supported individual attitudes that reinforce the idea that women and blacks, particularly black males, have a discrete place in society in which they must be kept (Pierce et al, 1978; Sanders, 2013; Sue et al, 2007).

Megan Sunga, Claudine Turner, and Lauren I. Murray College of Education and Human Performance, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM METHODS

REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS METHODS

OBJECTIVE

•  10 women o  3 white women o  5 black women o  2 Hispanic/Latino women

•  7 men (black)

•  5 executive level professionals (Assistant Dean or Vice President and higher)

•  9 mid-level professionals (Directors and Asst. Directors)

•  3 entry level/graduate students

•  Authenticity, Self-Advocacy, & Playing Politics

o  “We as women undercut what we do so well sometimes which is relationship building”

o  [When considering whether or not to take a higher position while being a single parent and woman of color] There is a cost for everything that you have to pay.

o  When I rose into leadership, I realized that I needed to advocate for myself in the absence of a supportive supervisor… play the politics, listen, but also find someone else who would support me and help me grow.

o  “I had to prove myself: How do you show you can be taken seriously from all aspects: from being a woman, Hispanic, a younger professional, and being attractive?”

•  Professionalism or credentials called into question o  “… your opinion is not really valid because you do not

understand the Black experience…. you don’t know what its like to really be Black.”

o  My interim director would constantly question how I got particular awards, who picked me to be on certain committees, or who wanted me there?

o  When it came to former female colleagues close in age in the field, if I had an opinion, people would perceive it as challenging.

o  “Are you on a track scholarship because you are a little short to play basketball?”

o  When people found out that the director of [Greek Life] was an African American, white Greeks assumed ‘you don’t know anything about us... you’re Black’.

•  Diminishing or undermining confidence in professional ability o  “When I was passed over in favor of others who had less

credentials, and arguably less experience, than I had, I started to question my worth to the organization.”

o  An AVP asked, “Why does your program have such great retention?” and my boss at the time said, “Oh its because … is sleeping with all the students.

o  I have heard from a woman that the only reason I am in my position is because I am a Latina and they needed a Latina for job.

o  Can you take notes?’ because the admin assistant was absent.

o  Dissuaded from pursuing positions where men typically dominate: “…you want to make sure you be strategic. Well they tend to favor powerful men so you may want to be careful for that.”

Microaggressions are the “brief, unintended, and often unconscious” (Sanders, 2013) expressions and exchanges that minimize or subordinate historically marginalized ‘others’. Continuous exposure to microaggressions throughout a lifespan damages the self-perception and undermines the authority of those subject to it.

Women and black male professionals in higher education are personally or professionally charged with mentoring future generations toward academic, personal, and professional success. Microaggressive languages and behaviors, though, negatively impact their self-perceptions and effectiveness. They find it difficult to maintain their authenticity and advocate for themselves or their students without seeming biased or working against the system. Their credentials and experience are often ignored, questioned, or simply invalidated without cause, leaving them to question their fit or worth to the organization. These participants encouraged future higher education professionals from historically underrepresented communities to: •  Produce impeccable work that will counter any attempts to

diminish your worth; •  Find your voice and be intentional about how you utilize it; and •  Encourage and mentor others with your successes.

Interview transcripts and observational notes are analyzed for commonly repeated statements about how participants experiences microaggressive language or behaviors. These statements reflect thematic patterns that express the essential components of the participants’ common experiences with microaggressive language and behaviors.

Faculty, staff, and administrative mentors encourage the persistence and retention of college students (Komives et al, 2003; Kuh et al, 2005), and particularly with women and students of color (Cuyjet, 2006, 1997; Harper, 2012; LaVant et al, 1997). College student educators instituted formal and informal mentoring programs that prepare students for academic and professional success by encouraging the students to think about and engage their experiences in new ways that reinforce or reflect socially acceptable standards. Best and promising practices in college student mentoring are commonly and formally shared (Solorzano et al, 2000), but research about the lived experiences of those who are charges with mentoring students is much less plentiful.