In studies on African American women and their experiences in higher educational institutions, as well as faced barriers, researchers usually apply such theories as to the feminist theory, the glass ceiling theory, and the leadership theory. The theoretical framework that appears most frequently in studies than others is the feminist theory, including its different types with a focus on Black feminism and multiracial feminism (Ramos & Yi, 2020; Williams, 2016). This theory needs to be discussed in detail in comparison to other models actively used in research.
The feminist theory was formulated in the late part of the 20th century by a group of researchers interested in studying feminism of the 18-19th century. The ideas of multiracial feminism were later developed by Zinn and Dill in 1996 (Ramos & Yi, 2020). Black feminism became developed in the 1980s regarding the efforts made by Anna Julia Cooper, as well as Crenshaw, who discussed the theory in the study of 1989 (Williams, 2016). The key components of the feminist framework are the following ones: the gender factor, power, and empowerment, class, equality, and inequality, along with sexual objectification (Ramos & Yi, 2020; Whitehead, 2017; Williams, 2016). When applying multiracial and black feminism, the key factors also include race and discrimination.
As it is was stated earlier, the feminist theory is used in studies on African American women’s experiences with a focus on Black feminism or multiracial feminism. Thus, Ramos and Yi (2020) referred to multiracial feminism to study the diversity in women’s of color experiences related to such factors as racism and sexism in their educational institutions. Whitehead (2017) used a combined framework concerning the leadership, glass ceiling, and Black feminism theories to explain the challenges faced by African American females in educational institutions. Williams (2016) studied barriers faced by African American superintendents about the intersectionality aspect of the feminist theory. Furthermore, Squire and McCann (2018) applied the critical feminist approach to study women’s of color experiences regarding participation in doctoral programs. This review of the application of the feminist theory in many studies on related topics helps determine how to leverage this theoretical framework in the current research to examine the barriers of African American women to higher education.
The advantages of applying this theoretical framework to studying the research problem are in possibilities to understand the presence or absence of barriers from the perspective of women’s gender or sex. This framework allows for understanding whether African American women face barriers because of their gender, female roles, associated sexism, oppression, and the lack of power in an educational institution (Whitehead, 2017; Williams, 2016). Using this theory, it is possible to study the aspects of gender inequality and gender discrimination by experienced African American young females obtaining higher education.
Potential limitations of applying this theoretical framework to the current research include the impossibility to explain all the aspects of experienced problems and barriers that are not related to race and gender issues. The feminist theory does not cover the aspects that can be explained regarding the glass ceiling theory or the leadership theory. Much attention to Black feminism is paid mostly to the problem of gender inequality and the lack of power in women of color. Therefore, this theory can be supported by other theories, such as the glass ceiling and leadership concepts and models.
References
Ramos, D. M., & Yi, V. (2020). Doctoral women of color coping with racism and sexism in the academy. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 15, 135-158
Squire, D. D., & McCann, K. (2018). Women of color with critical worldviews constructing spaces of resistance in education doctoral programs. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 404-420.
Whitehead, M. (2017). A phenomenological study of the barriers and challenges presented to African-American women in leadership roles at four-year higher education institutions (Publication No. 10269091) [Dissertation, University of Louisiana at Lafayette]. ProQuest Dissertation Publishing.
Williams, K. (2016). The African-American female superintendent: barriers and facilitators to success (Publication No. 10096123) [Dissertation, Capella University]. ProQuest Dissertation Publishing.