Belonging Is Resistance: Illuminating the Power of Women of Color Mid-Level Administrators in Higher Education

<p>Resistance has long been a mechanism through which the dominant norms of society are challenged in the name of social justice. White supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and neoliberalism make it difficult for institutions of higher education to increase diversity, advance equity, and prioritize inclusion. Although these systems of domination adversely impact the belonging of all campus stakeholders, the experiences of mid-level administrators are relatively overlooked, and feeling undervalued and underappreciated is a top reason for many, especially women and people of color, who leave the profession altogether. This qualitative study utilized narrative inquiry to understand how dominant societal norms adversely impact the belonging of women of color mid-level administrators in higher education, how they use their power to cultivate belonging in resistance against these norms, and how these belonging efforts impact the organizational culture. The study has three key findings: (a) women of color mid-level administrators are adversely impacted by the prioritization of growth and prestige as well as a sense of stratified value based on role and identities; (b) they practice coalition building through genuine relationships, exercise care and compassion within their locus of control, and maintain a commitment to authenticity as their approaches for cultivating belonging; and (c) these efforts bring about a visible impact of new programs and initiatives as well as a felt impact of shifting mindsets and behaviors that are more aligned with the institution’s social justice values. These findings were derived from the narratives of 13 women of color mid-level administrators recruited from two large, public, 4-year universities in Southern California with a minority-serving designation. The use of <em>kuwentuhan</em>, or Filipino talk story, to inform the semi-structured interviews elicited rich personal accounts that described their highly-nuanced experiences with navigating the organizational culture and cultivating belonging for themselves and those they work with. This research contributes to the understanding of resistance leadership broadly and in higher education, how organizational culture can be shaped and transformed, and the utility of <em>kuwentuhan</em> as a method of critical storytelling.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD Leadership Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation: Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Leadership Studies

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Martinez, Rachelle Ann

• higher education
• resistance leadership
• women of color
• belonging
• power
• mid-level administrators
• student affairs
• Leadership Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1059

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.sandiego.edu:dissertations-2072