1. Leadership Challenges for
Women of Color in Higher Education
C. Ellen Washington, Ph.D.
Assistant Director for Leadership/Scholar-in-Residence
NC State Conference on Diversity and Leadership
October 9, 2014

2. Women Leaders in
Higher Education
• The American Council of Education and others are
advocating for more women and minorities in
leadership roles.
o The number of women and minorities in administrative positions
has not increased significantly since 1988.
o The last year that minorities increased in administrative positions
in higher education was 2004. However, the increase has not
been consistent across all types of institutions. (i.e. Ivy Leagues,
HBCUs, Four-Year, Two-Year, etc.)
o Women of color, in particular are extremely under-represented at
the Presidency (3% versus 6% for men of color)
• Representation of women declines as the rank rises

3. What is the problem or
timely issue?
• Leadership programs for people of color have primarily
been reactive responses to the growing number of
students of color on campus.
• Higher Education needs more women prepared to move
into leadership roles across all types of institutions.

4. Ethnic and Racial
Leadership Challenges
• Racial discrimination generalized across other racial
groups; however, experiences of Black employees differs
from other racial minority groups.
• The impact of being Black and female in some higher
education settings often presents challenges for women
attempting to achieve leadership status.
• Discrimination remediation strategies influence racial
groups differently. Establishing organizational diversity
policies has been known to exacerbate the negative
effects of discrimination against Blacks.

5. Obstacles Women of Color
Face in the Higher Education
• Challenges with tenure and promotion
• Work-family responsibilities and struggles
• Challenges with policies and other support mechanisms
• Stereotypes of what women “are like” clash with male
leadership
• Time needed to progress through the pipeline
• Mentoring relationships and programs

6. Why are Women Missing?
Women have trouble being perceived as leadership material, even
when they have administrative credentials.
• Are women:
o Desiring
o Dismissing
o Being disqualified from leadership roles
o Self-identifying
o Being identified by the decision makers as leaders

7. What Happens When
Women of Color are Missing?
• The absence of women in upper administration echelon
works against the creation of a multicultural campus.
• Women lose interest more quickly than men in moving to
higher professional levels, due to lack of opportunities
• Lack of female mentors and role models for younger
women starting out on the path to leadership

8. The “True” Progress of
Women of Color
Although progress has been made in some areas, women
continue to lag behind male colleagues in moving into leadership
roles throughout higher education.
• Faculty rank and status are often prerequisites for top-level positions
such as chancellor or college president. However, women of color
are in the minority in the faculty ranks and few hold the title as full
professor.
• Many women leaders of color set their sights on positions as
coordinators, directors, and vice presidents and not upper-level
administration.
• When women of color are in senior leadership positions, they tend to
hold them in less prestigious areas such as student affairs.

9. How to Prepare Women
of Color for Leadership
• Much of the literature on leaders of color focuses on
recruitment and retention, but not on the actual preparation of
leaders.
• To develop women of color requires special attention and
focus because of racism and inequities that are still present in
society.
o An increased need for critical mass of women of color to insure that all voices are
heard and all agendas are considered
• Provide Targeted Professional Development
o Mentoring, Coaching, Networking, and Skill Development
o Female participants in leadership development programs have reported increased
self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence.

10. Select Professional
Associations
• Higher Education Organizations Focusing on Ethnic
Minority Women
o American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE)
o Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
o National Association for Student Affairs Professionals (NASAP)
o National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
(NAFEQ)

11. Select Leadership
Development Programs
• Mid-level Career
o The Donna M. Bourassa Mid-Level Management Institute
• To enhance governance and management skills
o The Higher Education Resource Services (HERS)
• Focus on preparing participants for institutional leadership and addressing
diverse administrative needs in higher education
• Senior-Level Career
o The ACE Fellows Program
• Prepares emerging leaders for institution-wide leadership roles
o The Kellogg MSI Leadership Fellows Program
• Prepares individuals interested in senior level positions at MSIs
o The Millennium Leadership Project
• Prepares senior-level administrators of color at state institutions for the chief
executive role

12. Barriers to Participation in
Leadership Programs
• There many internal and external impediments that
exist as women move through their careers.
o Racial Tension
o Feelings of tokenism and isolation
o Lack of financial resources
• financial burden to the individual and/or nominating institution
o Support from senior-level executives
• Problematic if there is little interface with senior leadership on campus
o Time
• Personal priorities and impact from absence from campus

13. Comprehensive Approach
to a Leadership Pipeline
• Three Tier Approach
o Step One: Develop top talent with skills, attributes, and experiences
that would align with administrative positions (i.e. Dean, Provost, or
President)
o Step Two: Identify short-term and long-term needs to develop a plan of
action (i.e. specific job training for leadership roles)
o Step Three: Develop a tired approach (mentoring and coaching)
• Lower-Level Management—fundamental skills and exposure
• Mid-Level Management—target high performing individuals/cross-
functional work assignments
• High-Level Management—leader-member exchange

14. Success Factors for
Women of Color
• Superstar Track Record: Always standing out in any
assignment
• Superior People Skills: Excellent supervisory skills,
and cooperation and good work from subordinates
• Career Courage: Courage to make job change for more
career advancement possibilities
• A Passion for Success: Strong determination to
succeed
• Miscellaneous Factors: Being considered smart,
having an impressive image, and a high level of
confidence

15. Concluding Thoughts…
• With the increasing number of women of color joining the
ranks of higher education, we must reconsider how, when,
and why we engage in leadership development.
• Institutions of higher education that claim to embrace the
value of diversity must put forth a sincere, pointed effort to
increase the number of women of color in leadership
positions.
• Finally, key decision makers must work to acknowledge and
affirm racial differences, and work to break down stereotypes
that impede women of color.

16. References
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Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
• Avery, D.R., McKay, P.F., & Wilson, D. C. (2008). What are the odds? How demographic similarity affects the
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• Jackson, J.F.L. (2004). Engaging, retaining, and advancing African Americans to executive-level positions: A
descriptive and trend analysis of academic administrators in higher and postsecondary education. Journal of
Negro Education, 73(1), 4-20.
• King, E.B., Dawson, J., F., West, M.A., Gilrane, V.L., Peddie, C.I., & Bastin, L. (2011). Why organizational and
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Academy of Management Journal, 54, 1103-1118.
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Leadership: A reference handbook (Vol. II., pp. 555-564). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Oakes, J.L. (1999). Woman as capable leaders in higher education administration: A historical journey with
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• Ruggs, E.N. & Hebl, M.R., Law, C. , Cox, C.B., Roehling, M.V., Wiener, R.L., & Barron, L. (2013). Gone Fishing: I-
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Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6, 39-60.
• Triana, M.C., Garcia, M.F., & Colella, A. (2010). Managing diversity: How organizational efforts to support diversity
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843.
• The White House Project. (2009, November). The White House project report: Benchmarking women’s leadership.
Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://thewhitehouseproject.org/documents/Report.pdf.

17. Questions?
• Thank you for your time!