College, open the door, they built the house: A qualitative study of the experiences of Black women executives
Black women are among the most highly educated groups in the United States yet remain underrepresented in executive leadership. Although higher education is widely positioned as foundational to leadership preparation, scholarship has rarely examined how Black women executives retrospectively interpret the role of their undergraduate experiences in shaping leadership identity and long-term career navigation. This qualitative study explored how Black women executives describe their leadership development and the influence of their undergraduate education across the career life course. Guided by the Kaleidoscope Career Model (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2005), which frames careers as evolving configurations of authenticity, balance, and challenge, the study used a basic interpretive qualitative design. Eight Black women executives across nonprofit, corporate, and entrepreneurial sectors participated in semi-structured virtual interviews. Participants ranged in age from 35 to 64 and represented varied disciplines and institution types, including three firstgeneration graduates. Data were analyzed inductively. Five findings emerged from the data: Leadership identity is developed iteratively rather than at a single moment. Undergraduate involvement in student organizations, identity-based and faith-based communities, and experiential learning introduced early patterns of responsibility and confidence that participants reinterpreted as professional demands evolved. Mentorship, sponsorship, and authenticity were central to nonlinear advancement. Findings extend the Kaleidoscope Career Model to a population it has rarely addressed and inform higher education, employers, and practitioners working toward equitable executive pathways.
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