Navigating uncharted paths to the American professoriate: experiences of immigrant black female faculty

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the challenges of immigrant black female faculty (IBFFs) from Africa who have joined the American professoriate and also explore the cognitive processing behind student and staff perception and expectations of immigrant professors of color. This category of scholars faces the intersectional “triple bind” of being females, immigrants and people of color; as a result, they may encounter peculiar challenges in their professional practice. Hence, throwing light on their experiences will help advance robust supportive systems that are essential to promoting all-inclusive staff productivity and the internationalization drive of post-secondary institutions. Design/methodology/approach Through the narrative analysis approach, the authors capitalized on the life histories, perspectives and experiences of eight IBFFs from Africa serving in US universities to offer new insights into this group’s roles, difficulties and triumphs. In-depth interviews that lasted for about 1–2 h per participant were transcribed and key themes were analyzed. Findings The authors found that IBBFs face a couple of challenges in their quest to transition and serve in the American professoriate. Some of the identified challenges include labor market discrimination, discounting of academic work and credentials, unfair evaluation, cultural taxation and lack of supportive work environment. Originality/value While previous studies focused on challenges that black female faculty (BFF) face in joining academia, little is known about the academic voyage of IBBFs pursuing careers in higher education. The objective of this study is to address this gap and, by extension, broaden the discourse on equity, diversity and inclusion within the academic landscape.