Volume 4, Issue 1

The Editor's Notes have no abstract

Seven activist Women of Color shared experiences of racism in feminist activism and provided strategies for building a more inclusive movement through this narrative study. A history of exclusion in the feminist movement and examples of marginalization provide a context for this study. Critical race feminism and intersectionality theory inform the theoretical framework. Findings include students’ understanding of activism, experiences with marginalization in feminist activism, and strategies for building more inclusive feminist activist movements. Educators and scholars will benefit from the voices of Women of Color activists and gain strategies for building more inclusive campus environments, both inside and outside of activism.

This study analyzed 816 medical professors’ perceptions of clinical teaching, as measured with the online version of the Clinical Teaching Perception Inventory, and examined difficulties that female professors faced in becoming the ideal clinical teacher. While describing themselves as a clinical teacher, female professors rated themselves lower than did their male counterparts on the stereotypical masculine characteristics “stimulating,” “well read,” “assured,” and “secure” and rated themselves higher on a stereotypical feminine characteristic “feeling.” It is possible that female medical professors underrate their actual behaviors as clinical teachers. Implications are discussed for future faculty development and the advancement of gender equity in medical education, where numbers of women have been steadily increasing. Recommendations for further research are offered.

Although Robin Morgan argued that sisterhood is powerful (1970) and forever (2003), results from this case study show that sisterhood is not easily achieved, even in women’s groups in which support for women was a formal goal. Narratives of eight women faculty, middle managers, and top administrators reveal that organizational sexism and women’s differing standpoints made sisterhood at one midsized university difficult to achieve.

Newspaper reports of female college seniors modifying their career plans to opt out of work before they enter the workforce challenge the assumption that because many recent college graduates were raised in dual-income families, they would expect to have a substantial workforce role. Using a questionnaire format, this study examines postgraduation plans of 131 seniors at a West Coast Christian university to identify development of career, marriage, and family plans and the degree to which they have prepared strategies for potential conflicting responsibilities. The potential effects of educational background are explored through a comparison to seniors at a highly selective East Coast university. The results validated the hypothesis that female students think more about the need for flexibility and possible time away from career than male counterparts. The women in this study did not opt out of the workforce but were considering other lifestyle modifications such as not getting married and not having children.

Women working in higher education information technology (IT) organizations and those seeking leadership positions in these organizations face a double challenge in overcoming the traditionally male-dominated environments of higher education and IT. Three women higher education chief information officers (CIOs) provided their perspectives, interpretations, and lived experiences regarding the gendered organization of higher education IT. This research, being unique in specifically studying women CIOs in higher education, expands the knowledge base regarding advantage and disadvantage within such organizations based on masculine/feminine and male/female working culture and experience.