2 DAYS - 40 SESSIONS
Women’s Leadership in a World on Fire
We know that women are not inherently or intrinsically good leaders and that men are not inherently or intrinsically bad leaders, and we also know that the world is on fire and there are more men in power than women. Certainly men and women are socialized differently in every society. When women are treated as subdominant people, like other such groups, they (we) learn strategies for survival and creativity.
Participatory and collaborative approaches to leadership may be associated with femininity, but they are intrinsically and profoundly democratic and demand complex and nuanced understandings of power and politics. They also privilege our mutual vulnerability and humanity and therefore seek ways to resolve or live with differences that are nonviolent, non humiliating, and inclusive. Such leadership need not be or appear weak but it does take patience, practice and a commitment to live into equanimity. It is crucial to practice and model this in higher education settings where our graduates go on to lead other organizations.
This talk will explore two or three practical approaches to increasing the tolerance for shared governance, working with others to share the message of multiple approaches to leadership, and will include a brief practice session to move assembled leaders toward deep listening as a strategy and a goal.
Increasing Educational Equity and Healing Trauma: Strategies for Retaining Students at HBCUs
In this engaging workshop tailored for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), I address the critical need for a trauma-informed approach to teaching within the unique context of our campuses. Understanding the diverse backgrounds and life experiences that our students bring to the learning environment, the workshop delves into strategies aimed at creating a pedagogical framework that not only educates but also fosters healing. The focus is on empowering faculty members with effective methods to establish inclusive and supportive classrooms, acknowledging the potential impact of trauma on students' academic journeys.
The workshop offers practical tools and techniques for implementing trauma-informed teaching practices. By embracing a trauma-informed perspective, educators can better understand and respond to the needs of their students, contributing to a more empathetic and nurturing educational environment.
The goal is to equip faculty members with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage students in a manner that not only enhances their academic experience but also promotes healing and resilience. By fostering such an environment, we aim to positively influence student retention rates and scholarly achievements, ultimately contributing to the holistic development of individuals within the HBCU community. Participants will leave with actionable insights, ready to implement trauma-informed teaching strategies in their own classrooms.
Upward Influence: Mastering the Art of Managing Up
Countering Attrition: Improving Faculty and Staff Retention of Underrepresented Groups
“You Need to be Nicer”: Expectations of Women Leaders
Hear from four women leaders representing esteemed institutions — Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins University, NYU, and UC Irvine — as they discuss the realities of authority and power. This session will explore perceptions of women who wield both in the workplace.
Gain insights into how these accomplished leaders navigate leadership expectations and leverage personal connections — encompassing friendship, experience, and skills — to mutually support one another. Identifying themselves as the "Fab Four," they will elaborate on their collaborative efforts and the positive impact their relationships have had on gaining perspective, advancing their careers, and challenging stereotypes.
Join us as we discuss what can happen when women embrace their radical truths. Exchange ideas on how to foster a sense of liberation in executive roles and influence the next generation to lead fearlessly.
The Impact of the Racialized Religious Identity of Swana Muslim Students on Their Belonging in College Campuses
Advising Muslim students has become a new focus in higher education due to the increase in the number of Muslims living in the U.S. Muslim students face challenges in higher education that extend beyond the classroom and academic material but focus on the acculturation and fitting into the greater society with an identity that has been rejected for decades. Identity challenges often affect academic persistence and success, which can affect the success of Muslim students in their academic performance in college as well as their professional life in their post-college journey.
South West Asian and North African (SWANA) Muslims experience high levels of microaggression, discrimination, and harassment due to the multiple identities they hold and the discrimination they receive due to the aftermath of the events of September eleven, 2001, and the war on terrorism. SWANA Muslims have varied experiences based on other factors, such as the choice of veiling, ethnic identity, and historical events impacting the system. In this session, we will explore the social, political, and historical factors impacting SWANA Muslims' identity and experience and explore the skills and experiences students employ to succeed in their higher ed journey.
Beyond Traditional Funding: Exploring Alternative Grant Opportunities for Institutions
Honest Dialogue: Effective Conversations and Conflict Resolution
Leading Diverse Teams: Strategies for Inclusion and Belonging
Leading Diverse Teams: Strategies for Inclusion and Belonging
This session is intended for managers, department heads, and administrators in leadership positions who are interested in learning and applying practical skills to lead diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) teams. Managers, department heads, and administrators in leadership positions will gain practical tools to help them lead diverse, equitable, and inclusive teams. This interactive workshop is specifically designed to accommodate learners from diverse backgrounds as well as learners from different starting knowledge points (new to the topic or social justice warriors). We will explore social identity in the workplace, examine inclusive leadership, and develop a toolkit to implement change management strategies. We will explore best practices for equitable organizational processes and norms and inclusive behavioral practices in teams. The session equips attendees with a strategies to mitigate implicit bias and employ a diversity, equity, and inclusion action plan that fosters inclusive leadership practices.
Learning Outcomes:
· Participants will be able to understand how social identity influences how we show up at the workplace.
· Participants will be able to describe the meaning of inclusive leadership.
· Participants will be able to develop an individual diversity, equity, and inclusion action plan.
On Our Own: Strengthening Social Capital and Psychological Resilience for Black Women in the Workplace
Improving psychological resilience and addressing the issues of low social capital are essential to creating equitable and healthy work settings, particularly for Black women who frequently confront unique and compounding challenges. The workplace is a social environment as much as a physical one, and connections, mentorship, and opportunity access are vital for both professional and personal growth. Black women's social capital can be severely reduced by institutionalized barriers to networking and pervasive microaggressions, which has a direct negative influence on their mental health and career advancement. Organizations may enhance the experiences of Black women and get access to a workforce that is more diverse, inclusive, and robust by proactively attempting to remove these obstacles and cultivate settings that enhance resilience. The commitment to enhancing social capital and resilience for Black women is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one, as it leads to broader organizational success and innovation.
Throughout the workshop, the systemic problems that lead to Black women's low social capital across generational boundaries are highlighted. Dr. Pina's research painstakingly reveals how Black women's professional trajectory and psychological resilience are directly impacted by reduced networking possibilities brought about by persistent racial and gender biases. Setting the scene with a definition of social capital and its importance in the workplace, the lecture then delves into the particular challenges Black women encounter, like limited access to sponsorship, mentorship, and fair possibilities for promotion. The resilience techniques that have been developed in response to these systemic obstacles are also included by Dr. Pina's analysis. She draws attention to the dual character of resilience as a social and personal strength, demonstrating how Black women draw from rich reservoirs of spirituality and cultural power to succeed in sometimes hostile work contexts.
The session concludes with a powerful call to action, providing practical recommendations for organizational change. Dr. Pina advocates for targeted policy reforms, increased awareness and training on microaggressions, and a concerted effort to create inclusive networks that genuinely support the growth and well-being of Black women. By incorporating these recommendations, organizations can take significant strides towards cultivating a workplace that not only recognizes the value of diverse social capital but actively works to enhance it, paving the way for a more just and resilient corporate landscape.
Building a Pipeline of Underrepresented Leaders in STEM
Seen and Unseen: Understanding the Broad Spectrum of Disability in Higher Education
Leading with Empathy: Harnessing the Strength of Diverse Perspectives
This talk is about both tested and emergent techniques used in University Libraries to address the professional issues around recruitment, retention, diversity, and advancement for people of color, underrepresented communities, and for women in senior administrative roles. Developing and utilizing DEI Audit toolkits, designing and financially supporting practical fellowships, awarding diversity research grants, providing on-the-job-mentoring, and advocating for curriculum-based changes in pursuit of the graduate degree are all examples that have impact in University Libraries and have impact across other academic departments.
Fostering Diversity and Developing Senior Women Leaders: Strategies for Recruitment, Retention, Inclusion, and Advancement in University Libraries
Overview of Talk:
Ithaka S+R research study projects that in order to evolve from an approximate 17% BIPOC faculty and staff in the field of academic librarianship to about 25% it would require graduating 500-1,100 additional BIPOC people every year for the next decade.
This talk is about both tested and emergent techniques used in University Libraries to address the professional issues around recruitment, retention, diversity, and advancement for people of color, underrepresented communities, and for women in senior administrative roles. Developing and utilizing DEI Audit toolkits, designing and financially supporting practical fellowships, awarding diversity research grants, providing on-the-job-mentoring, and advocating for curriculum-based changes in pursuit of the graduate degree are all examples that have impact in University Libraries and have impact across other academic departments.
Relevancy to Women in Higher Education:
This topic and the techniques are relevant to women in higher education leadership because the faculty and staff in University Libraries can often be overlooked as peers and allies with a voice in campus culture. These recruitment, retention, diversity, and professional sustainability issues affecting the academic library space are the same issues impacting other areas of higher education and the role women have to evolve it.
Attendees Take Away:
Panel attendees will take away key points of understanding-
How BIPOC and women faculty and staff in University Libraries are an essential part of diversity representation on campus
How University Libraries efforts to support EDI and representation can align with faculty, staff, and student campus efforts
How faculty search committees recruiting for the top administrative roles in University Libraries can raise awareness of the diversity and sustainability issues the profession is facing during that process
From Diapers to Diplomas: Navigating Parenthood and Profession in an Always-On World
Mastering Mid-Career Moves: How to Plan Strategically
How Diversity in Tech Can Shape a Sustainable and Resilient Future
With the seismic adoption of generative AI, it is more urgent now than ever to examine the real impact of technology on the future of work and society. This session will examine the critical role of diversity in developing technologies that are resilient, equitable, and enable successful and sustainable organizations.
Mitra Best will discuss:
Tech Paradox: Intentionally incorporating diversity to balance the Tech Paradox, in which technology, despite being a catalyst for numerous advancements and value creation, also contributes to many of our societal challenges
Hybrid Workforce: How to navigate the transition to next generation Hybrid Workforce (a new AI-enabled professional/knowledge worker) and the role of leaders in shaping an inclusive future where the power of AI augments the human experience vs replaces it
Tech for Good: How the promise of “tech for good” can finally be realized at scale by designing and delivering more sustainable and equitable outcomes that balance both profit and purpose
Mind the Gap: Identifying and Bridging Equity Gaps in Promotion for Faculty and Staff
Historically, women in higher education face a menagerie of challenges to advance. Women in STEM are particularly prone to leaving a discipline or academia altogether, a phenomenon so common it has been dubbed the leaky pipeline. As leaders seek the root causes of these inequities, evidence abounds that both historic systematic oppression and individual microaggressions pervade to negatively impact women’s advancement. Systematic inequities around promotion criteria, tenure committees, timelines, and parental leave all contribute in real ways to this leaky pipeline. Individuals also experience discrimination both subtly, and blatantly. Between these two major challenges, leaders face a multifaceted challenge in being part of the remedy to inequity.
Utilizing a data-driven approach, leaders can leverage institutional data as a starting point to identify gaps. However, institutional data often presents a surface-level portrait of the state of equity within an institution or unit. Leaders should also examine additional metrics such as rank and appointment type to discover a robust and realistic picture of equity within their units.
Once leaders have a realistic perspective on equity within their unit, they are empowered to enact systematic and individual-level change through grass-roots action. By sharing equity gaps with promotion policy makers, and working diligently to challenge bias in these arenas, equitable policies can be created. By seeing and hearing inequity at the individual level, leaders can choose to complacently allow behaviors to persist, or act to address microaggressions and visible discrimination within their institution. Taken together, leaders are empowered to identify and build solutions towards equity.
Transcending Awareness: How to Advance Your Cultural Competence
Allyship as a Leadership Skill: Supporting Underrepresented Colleagues
It Takes a Village to Achieve Grants Excellence
The rapid evolution of higher education has many of us working at and beyond capacity to create and execute a vision for how our institutions can weather this volatile climate in way that allow us to meet the needs of the students we have now and will recruit in the coming years, recruit, retain, and truly support talented faculty, and maintain the leadership role higher education has historically played in research, scholarship, and creative activities. Finding an achievable path that addresses all of these needs in the current landscape is daunting, and doing so in a climate where historical funding streams have diminished or changed is particularly daunting.
We are part of a unique collaboration that brings together three institutions of higher education and a 501(c)(3) to increase the research, grants, and contract capacity of our faculty, staff, and students. Through this collaboration we are able to provide a level of training, support, and engagement around all related processes that our smaller institutions could never achieve independently. We also create a community of scholars and mutual support that facilitates innovation and provides formal and informal avenues means of accessing advice, collaborators, and mentors.
We will discuss how this collaboration was created, the benefits we have seen so far, and ways that others can adopt all or part of this model in their own context.
Women's Education & Leadership Institute (WELI): Addressing the Gender Gap in Higher Education
Blind Spots in Hiring: Unmasking Unconscious Bias
The Continuing Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Advancing Equity in Higher Education
Please join us for FREE cocktails and small bites at the Hourly Oyster House, 15 Dunster St, Cambridge, MA (Google map), a seven-minute walk across campus and just off Harvard Square.
When Keeping It Real Goes Right: Authenticity as Your Birthright and Your Brand
As a woman of color in a male dominated profession working in administrations that don't reflect us, it would be easy to lose our sense of self. This is particularly challenging when our role as legal counsel requires us to place the best interests of the institution ahead of all others. But the institution itself is composed of people. Who are you to your president? Who are you to your Board of Trustees? Who are you to the faculty, staff, students? And let’s not forget the external parties that engage with (or intrude on) the higher education space. Who are you to the legislature? Who are you to those making legal claims against the institution?
So how do you thrive and survive when there are so many people to serve whose interests are not always aligned? And in the midst of trying to serve everyone else, how do you serve yourself?
Being true to yourself can be a hard task in an environment where it is expected that you will be all things to all people. What does it mean to be a professional and look the part? What are your values and how do you exhibit them in the workplace? And do those same values help or hinder you?
In this candid conversation, the speakers will explore how unapologetic ownership of who you are can help you have the hard conversations necessary to navigate conflict, settle values based disagreements, and establish a brand that people will respect and rely on.
Lost and Found: Academic Dean's Odyssey through Mid-Level Leadership in Higher Education Mergers
If you have experienced one merger, you have experienced one merger. Let us keep this in mind as we navigate through this presentation and discussion. As a dean who serves in the mid-level leadership role, I am here to offer insights and share my experiences as we went through institutional merger.
While the role of a dean can vary from one institution to another, in a broad sense, the academic deans at higher education institution serve as the bridge/liaisons between the upper administration, and the constituents they serve (faculty, staff, students, and alumni and others). Deans as mid-level administrators are key to communicating the vision of the University, ensuring the vision and mission of the college/unit they lead aligns with that of the University. As a dean, I've frequently pondered the true essence of being a liaison or bridge. Is it simply about transmitting information between parties, or does it involve advocating for one party's needs and perspectives to the other? Does the role of a dean leave room for their own opinions, ideas, and thoughts? While these are questions are challenging, these complexity of this is magnified during a merger. A dean and other mid-level leaders play a critical role in communications, fostering consensus, creating space for change and change management, articulating the “why” of the merger, championing for resource allocation, engaging the faculty, staff, students, and alumni and the list goes on, during a merger.
When going through a merger, where loyalties are constantly under scrutiny, necessitating continuous building of trust across multiple dimensions, how can a dean effectively steer and guide these multifaceted efforts from a mid-level leadership position, all while remaining a dependable source of support for the constituents they serve? This discussion will center on the strategies a dean can employ to effectively address these challenges and foster conditions that build trust and transparency to the merger process.
Women's Leadership in Historically Male-Dominated Fields: A Navigation Guide
Lights, Camera, Ascend: Media Mastery for Women Leaders
Villain or a Princess: An Examination of Leadership Tropes and Identities Black Women Leaders Navigate
Villain or a Princess: An Examination of Leadership Tropes and Identities Black Women Leaders Navigate
There is a university employee I am particularly fond of and whom I trust implicitly. When I call him, while keeping confidences, he lets me know the mood of the campus and cautiously shares his peers’ perceptions of me. Last summer, he sounded bewildered. “They don’t understand you. There seems to be some battle between you and the administration. I don’t get it. But I think you have to choose: you have to be a princess or a villain.”
After careful consideration, I realized, these choices are not choices at all for Black women in leadership. A quick perusal of past portrayals of princesses demonstrates that Black women are rarely put on pedestals. And who willingly signs up to be the bad guy?
These identities are not viable for leaders who want to be taken seriously and want to be respected for their skills and acumen. To be clear, research posits that Black women are often deemed villains.
Researchers describe a "Glass Cliff" and tell the stories of women and people of color attempting to lead vulnerable enterprises. They purport that women in these leadership environments cannot advocate for themselves and others, and boards often blame organizational failures on marginalized leaders. But what if these women are “the board”? There is scant literature examining the leadership experiences of Black women who serve on boards of colleges and universities. In this session, three Black women offer an examination of their leadership trials and triumphs on university boards. They will share ways they navigate identities chosen for them, negotiate board politics, and strive to lead ever-changing higher education spaces within the intersections of class, race, and gender they embody. How can research illuminate the experiences of Black women members? What can women do to support other women in these leadership positions?
How can we ensure greater numbers of minoritized women occupy these spaces and thrive?
Shine Your Light! Crafting your personal career narrative.
The session will focus on developing a career narrative that focuses not only on what you do, but also on why you do it and the impact it has on the organization.
Most of us have a statement we use to answer the question "What do you do?" which focuses on just that, what we do - our titles, our degrees, and the organizations we've worked for. What if you replied to that question with something more compelling? Something that gave a little insight into why you do what you do and the impact what you do has on others.
In this fun, interactive session, we'll begin crafting a narrative that showcases your work and the uniqueness you bring to it. We'll uncover your strengths, explore how your work inspires you and begin writing a statement that conveys that to others.
Your narrative can be used for introductions, as the beginning of your bio, as your LinkedIn or other networking platform profile statement, or on your resume.
Having a narrative like this "at the ready" is important for anyone, at any career level and in any position.
Know Your Worth: Pay Negotiation in Pivotal Times
The Tenure Trek: A Guide for Underrepresented Scholars
Navigating the Labyrinth: Mastering Career Strategy in Higher Education Leadership
The path to leadership in higher education is not just a career; it's a calling that requires a blend of skill, strategy, and vision. "Navigating the Labyrinth: Mastering Career Strategy in Higher Education Leadership" offers an insightful session designed for aspiring leaders who are ready to take the helm in the academic world. This presentation will provide participants with a framework for career advancement, detailing how to strategically position themselves for growth within the often complex maze of academia. Participants will explore the essentials of self-promotion, the subtleties of institutional navigation, and the critical role of personal branding in climbing the educational leadership ladder.
Effective communication and collaboration across various departments stand at the core of any successful leader's journey. This session aims to equip attendees with the tools to build and maintain productive relationships with supervisors and colleagues alike. Through interactive discussions, attendees will learn about the delicate balance of assertiveness and diplomacy, essential for leading diverse teams and driving innovative projects.
The session will also address the importance of maximizing the opportunities at hand and setting clear, attainable goals for the future. The presentation will guide attendees through career plan strategy with goal-setting techniques. By the end of this session, participants will leave with a strategic toolkit tailored to elevate their career trajectory, ensuring that they not only aspire to leadership roles but are fully prepared to excel in them. Join us for a transformative experience designed to turn your leadership potential into a successful reality.
Creating Belonging: Advocacy, Agency, and Ambassadorship in the Performing Arts
In the post #MeToo and George Floyd eras, performing arts institutions in the United States are grappling with the tensions that exist between long-standing hierarchical frameworks and calls from artists to create more diverse, equitable, and collaborative spaces. Academic institutions face similar tensions yet have a greater degree of flexibility and a stronger mandate than their industry counterparts; institutions of higher learning, therefore, must play a pivotal role in leading the charge for a comprehensive and sustainable approach to instilling values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the performing arts industry.
“Creating Belonging: Advocacy, Agency, and Ambassadorship in the Performing Arts” begins by outlining the historical background and contemporary perspective on the persistent, often deeply problematic hierarchies that allow for multiple and intersecting power imbalances within performing arts disciplines, by which women and people of color have been disproportionately impacted. The presentation defines contemporary, real-world challenges to be confronted, examines opportunities and solutions that arise from said confrontations, and offers a new paradigm for what it means to be a successful performing arts institution: one that embraces a collaborative approach, engages audiences by inviting them ‘in’ rather than ‘to’, and measures growth not just in audience numbers and balance sheets, but by societal impact.
To accomplish the work outlined above, performing arts programs within the academy have a responsibility to nurture young artists who not only are equipped with the requisite performance skills to enter a competitive industry, but who will enter said industry as capable, empowered, informed, thoughtful agents of change. It is no longer enough to do the difficult work of training competent - even outstanding - young artists. Academia must also develop young artists - particularly young women and artists of color - who know how to advocate for themselves, their work, and their fellow artists; are equipped with artistic agency sufficient to guide and inform their own work product; are aware of their responsibility as ambassadors for their specific disciplines, for the performing arts at large, and for how the performing arts can move society in positive ways.
Additionally, faculty working within the performing arts must be empowered to act as agents of change within their respective institutions, to be given the space to mentor students and young artists, particularly within relevant affinity groups, and to be diligent in fostering a symbiotic relationship between academia and industry. A strong argument exists for the cultivation of performing arts ‘laboratories’ within academic settings, where students and faculty are encouraged to experiment, fail, and build upon success; where audiences are invited in as active participants in the process of making art; and where industry stakeholders have an opportunity to connect with the values of their future constituency - practitioners and consumers alike.
Because women are among those minority groups that have most strongly experienced the negative repercussions of toxic hierarchies and power imbalances in the performing arts - and in academia - women are specifically positioned to emerge as leaders and primary collaborators in the work of dismantling existing power structures and fostering endemic change within academia and within the performing arts industry. “Creating Belonging: Advocacy, Agency, and Ambassadorship in the Performing Arts” offers a new paradigm for examining challenges, imagining solutions, and redefining success.
Tech Meets Touch: Leading with Soft Skills in STEM
Strategic Approaches to Personal and Professional Development in Higher Education Administration: A Reflection on Interim Leadership Roles
This presentation and subsequent discussion aim to delve into the deliberate and strategic approach to personal and professional development within the context of higher education administration, with a specific focus on thriving in interim leadership roles. The presenter will share insights drawn from their experiences serving as a program chair, faculty mentor, and interim senior research officer, shedding light on the intentional goal-setting and success metrics employed during these pivotal assignments.
Introduction:
Engaging in administrative roles within higher education often arises from unexpected circumstances, wherein individuals are called upon to fill crucial positions. The presenter's journey includes instances such as assuming the role of a program chair and faculty mentor, driven by a commitment to contribute to their department and institution. Notably, the presentation will center on the extended tenure as an interim senior research officer, a position initially undertaken for three months but extended to 27 months, offering a unique perspective on sustained interim leadership.
Setting the Stage:
While the presenter wholeheartedly embraced these responsibilities, they were equally intentional in setting personal and professional development goals. Recognizing the importance of deriving valuable takeaways from these experiences, even in instances where permanent appointments were elusive, the presenter strategically navigated the challenges inherent in interim roles.
Key Themes:
Goal Setting for Interim Leadership: Delving into the process of setting intentional and measurable goals, the presenter will explore how aligning personal and professional aspirations with the demands of an interim role can foster growth and development.
Success Metrics and Evaluation: Discussing the establishment of success metrics specific to interim leadership, the presentation will highlight the importance of continuous evaluation to ensure not only effective task execution but also personal and professional advancement.
Overcoming Setbacks and Learning Opportunities: Acknowledging instances where the presenter was overlooked for permanent positions, the discussion will address the resilience required in such situations and the invaluable learning opportunities embedded in setbacks.
Conclusion:
By sharing personal insights and experiences, this presentation seeks to contribute to the discourse on effective interim leadership in higher education administration. It emphasizes the significance of strategic goal-setting, the establishment of success metrics, and the cultivation of a mindset that ensures thriving even in temporary roles. The ensuing discussion invites participants to reflect on their own experiences and engage in a collective exploration of best practices for sustained growth in the dynamic landscape of higher education administration.
Building a Village: Leadership Pipeline for Tomorrow’s Trailblazers
The pathway to leadership in higher education remains a significant challenge for marginalized populations. Womxn, first-generation college individuals, and Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) have historically been excluded and pushed out. Many of them wait indefinitely for rare opportunities or invitations to the leadership table, often leaving capable individuals sidelined.
This highlights the urgent need for innovative opportunities for prospective womxn, first-generation, and BIPOC leaders. The long-standing, narrow pathways to higher education and leadership – ripe with patriarchy, sexism, racism – must be actively challenged. This involves creating opportunities not just for individuals but as well for cultivating a village of emerging underrepresented leaders. A decolonized approach that boldly champions culturally-affirming initiatives led by and for womxn, first-generation, and/or BIPOC leaders is essential.
In this presentation, the Psychology Internship Program (PIP; Kim & Johal, 2021), a mentorship-based pipeline initiative for first-generation college/college-bound, BIPOC students and professionals will be discussed. Founded by a first-generation college, BIPOC female faculty and her two BIPOC female graduate students, PIP aims to create a developmental and cross-generational pathway to higher education, advanced degrees, and leadership for marginalized high school students, undergraduate, and graduate students.
Attendees will gain insights into the inception, objectives, and structure of PIP. The session aims to equip participants with the knowledge and resources to replicate similar initiatives in their institutions, fostering a culturally-affirming leadership pipeline for marginalized and underrepresented students and professionals.
The “Only One” in the Room: Thriving as the Sole Diverse Voice
Tempered Visibility: Strategies for Navigating the Paradox of Hypervisibility and Invisibility
One of the most critical aspects of leadership is managing visibility, but this competency rarely receives the attention that it merits. Leaders across the gender spectrum are faced with core questions: “Who am I?” and “How do I show up?” Because of the influence of societal norms, gender schemas and intersectionality, women face a particularly nuanced deliberation of how they “respond” to these questions. In this session, we will delve into the concept of “tempered visibility” as a defined stance in relation to these questions.
Before focusing on “tempered visibility,” we will engage in several steps in preparation for this discussion: foundation setting, exploring key tactics used to manage visibility, delving into the importance of tempered visibility as a strategy, offering recommendations for the use of tempered visibility as a core leadership strength and concluding with key takeaways. Setting the foundation will be particularly important. The opening will include creating a shared understanding of key terms in the discourse on gender and DEI. In order to have the dialogue that this topic deserves, a space that welcomes participant engagement will be critical. To that end, the opening will also include the goal of co-creating a forum to guide our session. For these reasons, participants will be encouraged to share their expectations and boundaries, as well as any other parameters that will be helpful in shaping the context in which we will be working.
We often see managing visibility occurring through two commonly employed tactics – “standing out” and “blending in.” Both tactics are conscious determinations about how to handle a particular situation and/or take a stance on a particular issue. There are a number of benefits connected with each stance – being seen as a leader of innovation or acting as an adept team member are two of many outcomes. While knowing the benefits is important, understanding the challenges that accompany these two tactics is essential. With the decision to stand out, there is the possibility of being seen too much (hypervisibility). The decision to blend in may lead to not being seen enough (invisibility). A third observation is that invisibility and hypervisibility may be operating in tandem. A powerful way to navigate this paradox of invisibility and hyper visibility is a strategy identified as “tempered visibility.”
Tempered visibility represents the unique talent of knowing when to step forward and when to step back. Skilled use of tempered visibility as a strategy provides an opportunity for participants to address the importance of picking battles wisely, developing a cadre of allies, and acknowledging the dynamics of “double binds” and “codeswitching.” In its strongest form, tempered visibility can act as a source of support for well-being and belonging, as well as a catalyst for professional development and advancement.
Stacy will share several recommendations to employ tempered visibility; she will also solicit experiences and perspectives from participants. Insights from the session will be enhanced by sharing real life examples of “standing out/blending in” and “hypervisibility/invisibility.” We all stand to learn from examples of how participants used “tempered visibility” in their own leadership journeys.
In conclusion, we will share our closing words. Participants will be invited to offer their “take always” (insights, points for future dialogue, critiques). With this session, we will both start and conclude our time together as a community illuminating the important leadership strength of tempered visibility.
Peer-to-Peer Round Table Discussion
Immerse yourself in our vibrant roundtable discussions, where your fellow participants become your problem-solving partners, as you generate solutions and actionable takeaways.
Please note, this agenda may be subject to change.
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