Black Women Staff and Administrators’ Perceptions of Organizational Culture at a Highly Selective PWI

Brittany Kiara Robertson, University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

Black women staff and administrators in colleges and universities are essential to the success and well-being of students, yet their voices and experiences are often neglected in the literature (Luedke, 2017). This phenomenological study highlights the experiences of 20 Black women staff and administrators at one highly selective predominantly white institution in the northeastern region of the United States. The findings from this study reveal five themes: Trust and workplace relationships; Discrepancies between policy and practice; The struggle for pay equity and advancement, Navigating “political land mines”; and Power in the physical office space. The experiences of this study’s participants were wide-ranging and based on their respective social and intersecting identities, personalities, and specific office cultures. Black women staff and administrators who were successful used their resources to make strategic decisions necessary to advance and thrive. Recommendations for how to better support and develop Black women staff and administrators in policy and practice are outlined and included in the final chapter of this research.

Subject Area

Higher Education Administration|Organizational behavior|African American Studies

Recommended Citation

Robertson, Brittany Kiara, "Black Women Staff and Administrators’ Perceptions of Organizational Culture at a Highly Selective PWI" (2020). Dissertations available from ProQuest. AAI27996864.
https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI27996864

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