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Navigating Underrepresented STEM Spaces: Experiences of Black Women in U.S. Computing Science Higher Education Programs Who Actualize Success

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LaVar J. Charleston
LaVar J. Charleston
LaVar J. Charleston
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Phillis L. George
Phillis L. George
Phillis L. George
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Jerlando F. L. Jackson at Michigan State University
Jerlando F. L. Jackson
Jonathan Berhanu
Jonathan Berhanu
Jonathan Berhanu
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Abstract

Women in the United States have long been underrepresented in computing science disciplines across college campuses and in industry alike (Hanson, 2004; Jackson & Charleston, 2012). This disparity is exacerbated when African American women are scrutinized. Additionally, prior research (e.g., Hanson, 2004; Jackson & Charleston, 2012; Jackson, Gilbert, Charleston, & Gosha, 2009) suggests a need to better understand this underrepresented group within computing—a field in dire need of additional skilled workers. Using critical race feminism and Black feminist thought as theoretical underpinnings, this study examined the experiences of Black female computing aspirants at various levels of academic status. In doing so, this research captures the unique challenges that participants experience in their respective academic computing science environments, as well as how participants navigate this historically White, male-dominated field.
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Navigating Underrepresented STEM Spaces: Experiences of Black
Women in U.S. Computing Science Higher Education Programs
Who Actualize Success
LaVar J. Charleston, Phillis L. George, Jerlando F. L. Jackson,
Jonathan Berhanu, and Mauriell H. Amechi
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Women in the United States have long been underrepresented in computing science
disciplines across college campuses and in industry alike (Hanson, 2004;Jackson &
Charleston, 2012). This disparity is exacerbated when African American women are
scrutinized. Additionally, prior research (e.g., Hanson, 2004;Jackson & Charleston, 2012;
Jackson, Gilbert, Charleston, & Gosha, 2009) suggests a need to better understand this
underrepresented group within computing—a field in dire need of additional skilled
workers. Using critical race feminism and Black feminist thought as theoretical underpin-
nings, this study examined the experiences of Black female computing aspirants at various
levels of academic status. In doing so, this research captures the unique challenges that
participants experience in their respective academic computing science environments, as
well as how participants navigate this historically White, male-dominated field.
Keywords: STEM, computer science, African American females, higher education, broadening
participation
Many government entities within the United
States (e.g., National Science Foundation, De-
partment of Labor) have expressed an urgent
need to increase the number of job seekers
within science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) fields (American Council
on Education, 2006;National Science Board,
2012). In particular, strong emphases have been
placed on increasing participation within the
computing sciences among underrepresented
populations. Even though STEM-related jobs
are a growing sector of the U.S. economy, the
nation faces a severe shortage of computing
scientists (Beyer, Rynes, Perrault, Hay, &
Haller, 2003;National Science Foundation Di-
vision of Science Resources Statistics, 2011).
For the last decade, the U.S. Department of
Labor projected that approximately 1.6 million
additional workers with degrees in computing
sciences were needed to fulfill workforce de-
mands (Beyer et al., 2003;Hecker, 2001).
African American women in particular are an
underrepresented group within the computing
sciences, particularly at the highest degree at-
tainment levels (e.g., PhD; Hanson, 2004;Na-
tional Science Board, 2012). Moreover, the ma-
jority of opportunities to pursue doctoral
degrees in computing take place in homoge-
neous environments, which are generally not
welcoming to African American women (e.g.,
predominantly White institutions; Hanson,
2004). For example, a report from the National
Science Board indicates that Whites represented
over 70% of the country’s 3.5 million scientists
and engineers. Furthermore, there is sufficient
evidence to conclude that African Americans
collectively achieve the lowest number of doc-
toral degrees in science and engineering (4%;
National Science Board, 2012). Consequently,
African American women are typically isolated
in terms of race and gender as it relates to their
matriculation toward doctorate degrees in com-
puting sciences (Museus, Palmer, Davis, &
LaVar J. Charleston, Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion
Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Phillis L.
George, Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, Univer-
sity of Wisconsin-Madison; Jerlando F. L. Jackson, Jona-
than Berhanu, and Mauriell H. Amechi, Wisconsin’s Equity
and Inclusion Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-
Madison.
Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-
dressed to LaVar J. Charleston, University of Wisconsin-
Madison, 561 Educational Sciences, 1025 West Johnson
Street Madison, WI 53706. E-mail: Charleston@wisc.edu
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Journal of Diversity in Higher Education © 2014 National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education
2014, Vol. 7, No. 3, 166–176 1938-8926/14/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036632
166
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