How Does Mentorship, Professional Development, and Creating an Inclusive Environment Support the Accession of Black Women into Leadership Roles in Higher Education?

The gap between gender and leadership has been a notable issue for many years, specifically for Black women in higher education. Effective mentoring has been noted as having multiple functions in promoting professional growth, fostering the abilities of Black female faculty in learning to navigate barriers to career advancement, and supporting recruitment and retention of faculty of color. This presentation will examine the benefits of mentoring, professional development, and an inclusive environment for the accession of Black women seeking leadership roles in higher education.

This presentation highlights the findings from three separate papers: a Systematic Literature Review, a Conceptual Paper, and a Practice Application paper. The systematic literature review will address relevant research, systematic search strategies, and a synthesis of the findings. The conceptual paper will apply Black Feminist Theory and Intersectionality as the theoretical frameworks to examine the barriers and benefits of mentorship, cross-race mentoring, and training. The Practice Application paper discusses the mentoring structure at Texas A&M University Texarkana and the development of a mentoring program and other supports to address the recruitment and retention of Black female faculty.