Checking the box or doing the work?: The importance of faculty perspectives on service and the relationship to power in higher education, and the role of DEIJ initiatives in culture change
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2024
Department/School
Women's and Gender Studies
Publication Title
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Education: School-University-Community Research
Abstract
Faculty continue to struggle to understand the inequities embedded in university structures and the overarching need for DEIJ (diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice) work (Wilson & Tugas, 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light pre-existing inequities of the distribution of service labor in academia (Docka-Filipek et al., 2023), which included the unacknowledged labor of women and faculty of color (Hogan, 2012). This additional service is most often levied on women and BIPOC faculty, which plays a role in creating barriers to career advancement (Domingo et al., 2022). This pilot-study explored the service engagement of faculty leadership (N = 21) at a university in the Midwest United States to provide an understanding of the service responsibilities of non-majority faculty and to compare these obligations across gender and race/ethnicity. Leaders in faculty senate, unions, and DEIJ committees responded to a 2021 survey about service obligations, perceptions of service, and types of service. The results indicated women faculty are more engaged in caregiving types of service than their men counterparts, even with fewer supports for service work. Faculty of color feel less supported and held to a different standard than their White colleagues. The results were explored through a lens of privilege and power with consideration to gender and cultural taxation. In order for faculty to move into higher levels of leadership, it is crucial for institutions to address power dynamics and service inequities that act as obstacles (Morin, 2018). Universities should prioritize service by making it a critical factor for promotion and tenure. However, achieving this requires making systemic changes within the institution where females and faculty of color are actively part of the discussion and are encouraged to share their personal narratives to better inform the institution (Patitu & Hinton, 2003).
Recommended Citation
Havenaar, K., Logwood, D. C., & Barragan, C. (2024). Checking the box or doing the work?: The importance of faculty perspectives on service and the relationship to power in higher education, and the role of DEIJ initiatives in culture change. In R. M. Reardon & J. Leonard (Eds.), Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in education: School-university-community research (pp. 119–140). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/979-8-88730-725-120251010
Comments
D. C. Logwood is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Women's and Gender Studies.
C. Barragan is a faculty member in EMU's School of Social Work.
*K. Havenaar is an EMU student.