Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-5-2025
Publication Title
Journal of African American Studies
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-025-09713-9
Abstract
Black women remain acutely underrepresented in senior leadership roles within higher education, often experiencing precarious appointments during times of institutional instability—a phenomenon known as the “glass cliff.” While existing research addresses the barriers to leadership access, limited scholarship explores what happens once Black women assume these high-risk roles. This study asks, “What are the lived experiences of Black women in high-level leadership roles in higher education, and how do they describe navigating workplace cultures shaped by the intersections of race and gender?” Using narrative inquiry, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with five Black women who have held high-level academic leadership positions. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were thematically analyzed using a five-step coding process, with multivocality and researcher reflexivity employed to ensure rigor. Findings revealed eight interrelated themes, including the impact of racial and gender identity on professional trajectories, limited mentorship and sponsorship, inequitable compensation, and persistent organizational cultures reflective of glass cliff conditions. Participants described feeling devalued, under-supported, and excluded from critical decision-making spaces. Despite these challenges, they demonstrated resilience and emphasized the importance of culturally affirming support systems, intentional recruitment practices, and transparent institutional cultures. This study contributes to higher education leadership literature by demonstrating how misogynoir and racialized organizational risk shape Black women’s leadership experiences post-appointment. The findings call for urgent structural reforms in recruitment, support, and retention strategies to ensure that Black women not only access leadership roles but are positioned to thrive within them.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Theodore W.; Toms, Ozalle M.; Gaines, Amaya M.; and Timmons, Arlean, "The Perilous Experiences of Black Women in Higher Education Leadership Who Were Placed on the Glass Cliff" (2025). Aviation Institute Faculty Publications. 20.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/aviationfacpub/20
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Funded by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Open Access Fund
Comments
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This article was published open access under the Criss Library (Lyrasis member) and Springer open access publishing agreement.