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Since 1976, while the total numerical enrollments of Black female undergraduates exceeded their male counterparts by a factor of nearly 2 to 1, the enrollment growth rate among Black males exceeded that of Black females, 60% as compared to 40% (NCES, 2008). The heightened enrollment growth among Black males may be attributable to increased attention to their comparative diminishing numbers in both scholarly and popular forums. However, as reflected by Cole and Guy-Sheftall (2003), it is fallacious to assume “improving the status of black men will single-handedly solve all the complex problems facing African American communities” (p. XXIX). As such, the purpose of this empirical collection of works is to identify both successes and challenges faced by Black female students accessing and matriculating through institutions of higher education. Special attention is paid to women pursuing careers in the high-demand fields of teacher education and STEM.

Using the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System Completion Survey by Race (1980–2009), we seek to redirect the conversation about African-American females as single mothers, welfare recipients, and victims of the AIDS epidemic to one that highlights their exceptional school enrollment levels and postsecondary degree attainment. We examine separately the educational trends for black women by citizenship status and identify institutions that have been successful at conferring degrees to each group of black women. We find that the percentage of black women enrolled as first-time freshmen was greater than the percentage of any other non-white group, the growth in the total number of black women enrolled at for-profit institutions as first-time freshmen more than double and HBCUs were institutions most successful at conferring degrees to black women.

African American females make up two-thirds of African American postsecondary enrollments and 60% of all African Americans with at least a bachelor's degree. How do brothers and sisters with shared experiences have such markedly different outcomes? I find that African American females are more likely than African American males to apply to college, to attend college, and to attend two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and selective colleges. Students' backgrounds, academic achievement, and Catholic school attendance explains the differences in the type of colleges African American females and males attend, but fail to explain differences in college application and attendance rates.

Increased efforts are being made by key entities (e.g., the National Science Foundation) within the United States to support various strategies aimed at broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Consistent with these efforts, strategic attention has been placed on targeting African Americans in the computing sciences. Previous research on computing sciences intervention efforts (e.g., Chase & Okie, 2000; Hale, 2002) revealed that even when positive outcomes occur, they tend to vary by gender. As such, this study examined the differential gender outcomes of a computing sciences outreach effort aimed at broadening participation of African Americans in degree programs and career options at predominantly White institutions. The results of this study highlight the need to address the varying needs of targeted participants based on gender when designing and implementing similar programs.

In the present chapter, we argue that Black college women's experiences with microaggressive racial discrimination are best understood through the lens of intersectionality, which emphasizes the interrelations between race and gender. We use a focus group method with 20 Black female students (mean age=20) from two different settings: a four-year university and a community college both located in the same college town. This qualitative approach allows us to understand Black women's experiences in more detail and to gain insight into how microaggressions are lived on a daily basis during college. Our findings affirm that in and around college campuses, many Black female students regularly encounter microaggressive forms of discrimination unique to being Black and female, which communicate messages of inferiority, criminal status, abnormal cultural values, and rigid stereotypes. We conclude with suggestions for what colleges and universities should do in order enhance support services and create a more inclusive environment.