PATHWAYS TO PROMOTION: Obstacles and Opportunities for Women of Color in Academia

This chapter describes the author's own experience seeking promotion to highlight the broader challenges that befall women of color in academia. It also discusses some of the potential strategies they can take to address these and examines how mentors and institutions can change to be more hospitable institutions for women of color. Advancement in academia is difficult for anyone, but for women of color, reaching the rank of full professor is often a particularly challenging process. Social and cultural structures in academia mean that the research, scholarship, teaching activities, and service work that many women of color do are often disregarded or taken for granted. Academia is simply one industry of many where women of color must guard against institutional and individual tendencies toward minimizing their important contributions. The institutional level is perhaps where the most significant changes can occur to facilitate support, engagement, and advancement for women of color in the academy.