Problematizing Intersecting Identities: How Diverse Women Faculty Make Sense of Our Roles Within Academia

Abstract

Collaborative learning environments are critical to faculty success in academia. This is particularly true for women who experience the gendered inequity embedded within academic culture. This article explores the experiences of four diverse women faculty across different institutions as we collaborated in a virtual space to make sense of our multiple, intersecting identities and how they are affected by our roles within academia. We shared our experiences with balancing the demands of our jobs while tending to other responsibilities, such as raising children, maintaining healthy partnerships, practicing self-care, and meeting government requirements to remain in the United States. Discussion centers on how the supportive space we co-created allowed us to explore common aspects of our lived realities that we found by sharing our small stories, and what stops some women faculty from persisting to the highest level of rank in academia.