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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 purpose of this paper is to clarify the influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability. In doing so, we recognize multiple factors that can contribute to this relationship. Using the systems theory framework (STF) of career development, we categorize these factors based on whether they primarily reside within the societal system, the organizational system, or the individual system. Subsequently, we construct and present an open systems model that depicts the influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability in context with other societal, organizational and individual factors.

The STF provides a theoretical perspective on how to contextualize linguistic profiling and perceived employability within the scope of career development. We employed an integrative literature review method to locate existing research studies that investigated the influences of linguistic profiling and perceived employability. The literature search process, coupled with inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulted in 46 publications retained for analysis.

Findings provided evidence of language ideologies that contribute to linguistic profiling globally. Linguistic profiling usually results in reduced perceived employability. There was variation in the research findings based on the context of the research studies. The context consisted of the societal, organizational and individual systems in which the research study was conducted. Findings supported our construction of an open systems model of the influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability, which is rooted in the STF.

This study highlights the negative influence of linguistic profiling on perceived employability. It also demonstrates how the STF can be used to contextualize the linguistic profiling problem within societal and organizational systems.

With heightened national attention placed on race and gender identity, the ability and preparedness of students to engage in critical conversations on such topics and with diverse groups is of much concern to educators. High school student-athletes are frequently thrust into the spotlight on topics related to race and racial identity, due to their hypervisibility and role as representatives of their schools. This chapter uses current events involving Black girl, high school, student-athletes to demonstrate how racialized and gendered experiences may shape how they understand themselves as well as their school and non-school environments. Further, this chapter includes a study that highlights the narratives of two Black female college athletes who, when prompted to discuss racialized and gendered experiences, shared stories that highlighted their primary and secondary educational experiences. These narratives identify school diversity and fitting in, and the coach as influencer as salient themes from the study. This illuminates the influence of early racialized encounters and the salience of those occurrences in shaping the way Black girls think about their own racial and gender identity development. In closing, this chapter calls on educators to prepare themselves to facilitate conversations about race through the use of equity audits, effective programming for Black girls, and a call for education advocates for Black girls in preK-12 environments.