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The purpose of this research was to empirically examine the career transitions of mid-career African American women leaving traditional careers for entrepreneurship. The authors illustrate how transition theory and effectuation principles ameliorate an African American woman's transition to entrepreneurship.

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with nine African American woman entrepreneurs. The data collected were evaluated through the lens of transition theory and effectuation theory.

The study results show that despite being the chief officer, many African American women still face inequalities when negotiating business deals, interacting with partners and when seeking capital for their business. Effectuation theory partially supports an African American woman's career transition to entrepreneurship, but the theory does not fully address the unique experiences of this demographic.

The results of this study reveal that effectuation principles do not fully explain the entrepreneurial career transition experiences of African American women. Theory development and extensions of existing theories should consider the potential discriminatory practices that limit financial resources and strategic partnerships for African American women entrepreneurs. The authors also advocate for consideration of identities, particularly related to gender and race, as factors that contribute to entrepreneurial experiences.

The study findings support the notion that each woman's situation will be different and unique, requiring aspiring African American woman entrepreneurs to assess their individual situation. Consistent access to minority-specific programs can help aspiring African American women entrepreneurs visualize her new identity and provide the support needed to enhance her career transition. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so each woman will need to craft her own individualized plan.

Findings from this study solidify the role of African American women entrepreneurs as business leaders with influence and direct impact on the US economy. Their success enables African American women to contribute to more inclusive societies through their service to diverse members of society. In addition, their attainment of success serves as a testimony to aspiring African American women that entrepreneurial success is achievable, encouraging more diversity in entrepreneurship.

Few entrepreneurial studies exist on both women and racial minorities, resulting in a paucity of strategies to support African American women throughout their entrepreneurial journey. The results of this study revealed barriers which require specific strategies to address discriminatory lending practices and acceptance when forging new business relationships.

The chapter identifies the COVID-19 pandemic as not just a public health crisis but also an information crisis. The authors argue that a deeper understanding of the role of culture in information practices is critical for the future of research and theoretical development around humanity’s relationship to information (i.e., why information is or is not created, represented, avoided, sought, retrieved, used, shared, or hidden). This chapter highlights the Black Feminist Information Community (BFIC) framework, especially the voice and information aspect of the model in the context of community justice.

Several African American educators served as an inspiration in the development and scholarship of an African American female who teaches at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) of higher learning. This chapter shares the author's foundational beginnings and persistence in academe while teaching and leading in a race-conscious society. She shares some of her upbringing, education, and early teaching experiences. She also shares her motivation to learn and serve (Bethune, 1950, 1963), while walking in circles. Sizemore (1973, 2008) to provide a roadmap of her journey to support new and developing African American female professors. She uses poetry and the dimensions of African American culture (Boykin, 1983) to guide her sharing. The author uses her exploration of identity development as an African American womanist who advocates as an African American first, to share how she has developed as a scholar whose renewal of purpose targets becoming a full professor.

The article focuses on the challenges and issues which African American females encounter in navigating the Academy as faculty and doctoral students. The literature is replete with discussions of African American female scholars and the feelings of isolation, marginalization, and invisibility which they experience. The same would be true for African American female doctoral students. The author provides a discussion of the concerns which African American females encounter while navigating the tenure process. It is suggested that critical factors include understanding the environment while focusing on ensuing expectations of the academy are met. The importance of effective communication in the academy is highlighted. The context of the meaning of teaching, research and service and the need to balance work in these areas are delineated as this becomes critical for a new faculty member navigating the process. It is replete with key points to consider and personal experiences which highlight effective behaviors. The second part of the discussion focuses on the issues which African American females have in navigating the academy as doctoral students. It provides insight into issues of understanding the environment and the expectations of the academy along with the benefits of establishing effective communication with faculty and peers. Within the discussion are key points designed to assist female doctoral students in being successful. Advisors working with doctoral students are encouraged to establish relationships while at the same time requiring excellence as a means of assisting students in their process and professional life.

This author reflects on her academic career spanning three decades as a Black woman in higher education. Ironically, the elders' sayings she heard and detested as a child resonated throughout her career. While in eighth grade, her grandmother admonished her for being deceptive and trying “to pull one over” on her and said that this author would need “to get up ‘fore day in the mornin’” to accomplish that feat. “Fore day in the mornin” must have been the time before her grandmother was fully alert, astute, and had the most clarity. For Black women to succeed in the academy, we must remain alert and recognize when faculty, administrators, and students attempt to pull one over with microaggressions and other forms of resistance. Microaggressions and resistance were perpetrated across race and gender lines, and occasionally by those who look like her. Having been reared in urban and low-income communities, the author acknowledged the investments she received throughout her schooling and career from both members of the academy and from Black communities. Consequently, her mission to improve outcomes in schools and communities, much like those in which she grew up, has not changed in 33 years. Understanding race and culture in self-definition and identity are discussed, followed by embracing opportunities and return on investments. There are increased calls for reciprocal and culturally responsive mentor–protégé relationships and successful strategies for tenure and promotion. The author makes meaning of both successful and challenging critical incidents in the academy.

This qualitative study investigated the relationship between beauty standards and identity in the United States from the perspective of 20 self-identified millennial Black women. During semi-structured virtual interviews, participants defined Black, American, and millennial beauty standards distinctly. American beauty was associated with Eurocentrism and mainstream media representation. Interpretations of a millennial beauty standard were aligned with perceptions of the generation as tolerant and politically conscious. Black American beauty standards embraced the range of hair textures and skin tones present in the African diaspora. While participants were cognizant of the different beauty ideals present, their interaction with beauty standards was ambivalent. Interviewees found beauty knowledge accessible through social media. However, they remain confined to a restrictive beauty standard due to workplace expectations around professionalism. Participants negotiated where and when to express their intracultural beauty ideals but participated in the beauty industry through processes of learning how to care for their hair in its natural state. Even though they have autonomy and flexibility in expressing their cultural styles, personal and professional repercussions are still plausible. Future studies can expand on these findings by exploring perceptions of American beauty standards from a different generation, region, or identity.

The ballet industry has long been criticized for using excessively thin and exclusively Anglo-looking ballerinas. The statement that they fit the “look” or comments such as this in the 2015 New York Daily Post: “A lot of people feel ballerinas should all be the same color” (Keivom, 2015) have been used to exclude Black and Brown ballerinas. This chapter describes the relationship between race, gender, and beauty within the ballet industry. It describes the challenges that Black women experience and the anti-Blackness that takes place within ballet due to Eurocentric beauty standards. Through a focus on the emphasis on hair texture, flesh-tone tights, and pointe shoes, and on the racist history of America and ballet, this chapter demonstrates how ballet continues to discriminate against and marginalize Black women.

This paper investigates the meaning of spirituality and empowerment from the perspective of women of color (WOC) in Fortune 500 companies how it impacts their leadership.

Detailed data were collected through in depth semi-structured interviews documenting their experience as lived in the context of their daily work environments. Twelve WOC in leadership positions were interviewed, and transcripts analyzed using thematic analysis. Their narratives provide insight into the experiences of discrimination and bias and the stress and disenfranchisement that result from these experiences.

Analysis shows that for these women, spirituality was more than a philosophical orientation but comprised a core facet of their identity, empowering them to cope with adversity and uplift others through a leadership style defined by compassion, trust, strong interpersonal relationships and purpose.

Implications for creating more compassionate and inclusive environments that draw on principles of empowerment and spiritual leadership are provided.

This study contributes uniquely to the literature by exploring the perspectives of understudied women leaders who identify as African American, South-Asian and Latina on spirituality and empowerment and their impact on their leadership.

The author reflects on her journey to becoming a Black female full professor at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Additionally, she summarizes the research on the successes and challenges for women professors, Black professors more broadly, and Black female professors, more specifically, to contribute to a deeper understanding of the positionality and stance of Black women professors. Although HBCUs are higher education institutions where Black female professors achieve tenure in the greatest percentages, the author highlights the intersection of race and gender and the unfortunate gendered power dynamics in these spaces that frequently place Black female faculty at a disadvantage. The chapter concludes with strategies for Black women professors to survive and thrive in academia, in general, and at HBCUs, more specifically.

While scholarship has identified the bias that maternal women (Arena et al., 2023; Grandey et al., 2020) and racial minority employees (King et al., in press) endure, few have taken aim at understanding how these identity characteristics might combine to concomitantly shape work experiences. Drawing from stigma theory (Goffman, 1963), the primary purpose of our chapter is to examine how the stereotypes of maternity might interact with race-based stereotypes to shape the experiences of working women. In doing so, we will be able to identify which stereotypes of maternity (i.e., incompetence or disloyalty; Grandey et al., 2020) might be exacerbated or weakened when varying race-based stereotypes are considered. After reviewing the potential for intersecting stereotypes, we then argue that mothers might experience different work and health outcomes – both pre- and postpartum – based on their race. We close by providing insight for future scholars and identify additional identity characteristics that may shape mothers' workplace experiences.