The Influences of Gender, Race and Ethnicity on Workplace Experiences of Institutional and Social Isolation: An Exploratory Study of University Faculty

ABSTRACT Racial and ethnic minorities and women in the professoriate have already achieved a level of career success to overcome obstacles and negotiate the educational process. Still, their experiences differ from their white male counterparts. They lag behind in terms of pay and mobility, and research on other occupations reveals that even “successful” minorities experience the workplace organization differently from white men (Nkomo and Cox 1990 Nkomo , S. M. and T. Cox . Jr. 1990 . “Factors Affecting the Upward Mobility of Black Managers in Private Sector Organizations.” The Review of the Black Political Economy 18 ( 3 ): 39 – 57 .Crossref , Google Scholar; Yoder and Aniakudo, 1997 Yoder , J. F. and P. Aniakudo . 1997 . “Outsider Within the Firehouse: Subordination and Difference in the Social Interactions of African-American Women Firefighters.” Gender & Society 11 ( 3 ): 324 – 341 . CSA Crossref , Google Scholar). Our study extends research in this area in two ways. First, we ask, to what extent do women and minorities in the professoriate experience the workplace differently from white men as evidenced in feelings of institutional and social isolation, and intention to turnover? Second, we avoid homogenizing racial and ethnic minority groups into a single “nonwhite” category. Thus, in exploring experiences of isolation, we distinguish among a wider range of racial, ethnic and gender groups. While we had insufficient numbers to look at a large number of minority groups, our findings indicate the importance of examining feelings of different types of isolation and the significance of the gendered and racialized nature of workplace organizations.