| Since the 1800s African-American women have been involved in educational processes in meaningful ways despite challenges to their efforts and advancements. African-American women have made significant strides in breaking the glass ceiling within higher education. This qualitative research study explores and compares the perceptions of challenges and barriers to career advancement for African-American women senior-level administrators at public and private colleges and universities in North Carolina. Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene (Two-Factor) theory was used as a framework to understand the challenges and experiences African-American senior-level women administrators' experience. The personal profiles and narratives of senior-level African-American women in higher education were collected. The research was designed to capture the sociocultural factors, assess administrators' demeanor, interpersonal work relationships, overall perceptions, coping mechanisms, and determines barriers. Face-to-face, as well as phone interviews, were conducted with the research participants. The data from this study yielded the themes of ascertaining your place in the system, the external view and being omitted, obstructions to progression, and mentoring. The results of this research indicated that stereotypes, as a result of race, age, gender were hygiene factors, and the women had to be more persistent and find alternatives to succeed. Attempts must be made to address the issues that confront African-American women such as: being treated like the help; outsiders; keeping them away from the table; having a voice and discounting their experiences, skillset and value to higher education because of their race, age, and gender. |
