Black Feminist Theory Summary

Discussion and Implications In undertaking this research, the authors sought to answer the following research questions: 1) How do Black women engineering students’ experiences reflect discrimination based on the intersection of race and gender? 2) Which of these experiences are similar among black women engineering students? Using Black Feminist Theory, the study exposed two major themes among Black women engineering students. The two themes, (a) Challenging stereotypes by doing something out of the ordinary and (b) Persisting for future generations, despite adversity, highlight the unique, intersectional ways in which Black women navigate spaces of multiple jeopardy (King, 1988). All of the women in the study verbalized the various ways
This is evident in Cliffie’s story about her interaction with an older Black woman outside of academia. When the older Black woman tells Cliffie that her major sounds like something a White man would be doing, she is revealing her own internalized sexism and racism. The woman’s comment highlights the internalized intersection of racial and gender oppression that informs her thinking and, ultimately, shapes her doubtful view of Cliffie’s ability to complete her degree in mechanical engineering. By sharing her skepticism with Cliffie, she is perpetuating the notion that Black women are intellectually inferior to White men and she is arguably exposing Cliffie to stereotype threat. Steele and Aronson (1995) defined stereotype threat as the risk of endorsing a negative belief of one’s own gender, racial or cultural group. Further, Steele and Aronson (1995) exposed how stereotype threat can negatively impact African Americans’ academic achievement. Although Cliffie experienced stereotype threat in her interaction with the older Black woman, she used it as motivation to succeed. This finding suggests that stereotype threat should be explored in combination with other factors to explore the varying
As discussed in theme two, participants understood that they were paving the way for future Black women engineers and conceptualized their choices and actions as a means of social justice in academia. This form of social justice work, work which focuses on the equal distribution of opportunities for Black women engineering students, is evident as the participants expressed they must persevere in order to reach back and pull forward (Walker, 1984) other Black women. Caylee, Charlene, Katherine and the remaining participants each acknowledged that their perseverance in engineering will provide better opportunities for the Black women who choose to major in engineering after they graduate. Further, each participant understood the responsibility she has to serve as a role model and mentor for younger Black women who desire to become engineers. Finding appropriate mentors and role models in the academy for women in engineering is a difficult task (Chesler & Chesler, 2002). However, having a mentor or role model is beneficial in terms of academic performance, persistence, and navigating the field (Chesler & Chesler, 2002; Felder, Felder, Mauney, Hamrin, & Dietz, 1995; Wilson, et al., 2012). Additionally, a number of participants conceptualized their