Appreciative Approach to Overcoming the Underrepresentation of Black Women in Senior-Level Leadership Roles in Higher Education

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EdD)

Committee Chair

Joel Gardner

Committee Member

Alyncia Bowen

Committee Member

Usha Palaniswamy

Abstract

Women make significant contributions in their respective disciplines, representing over 46% of the general workforce and 53% of the higher education (HE) workforce. Additionally, reports reveal that 25% of HE president positions are occupied by women, and only 5% of those women (or 1.25% of all presidents) are Black, creating a significant disproportion of Black women who occupy senior-level leadership roles in HE institutions. There has been much work investigating the underrepresentation of Black women in leadership in academia. However, much of this research seems to focus only on barriers of discrimination and not on practices that encourage the presence of Black women in HE senior-level positions. Therefore, understanding the perspective of Black women who achieved senior-level positions can provide insight into these phenomena. This study aims to investigate new practices and strategies that successfully support Black women in achieving their senior-level positions. One potential outcome of this research might include a conceptual framework outlining strategies that higher education administrators and Black women seeking senior-level leadership positions can implement to engender greater balance and diversity within the executive leadership team.

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