Afro-Brazilian Women in Higher Education at the Federal Institute of Bahia (IFBA) Brazil

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine, describe, and understand underrepresentation of Afro-Brazilian women faculty members in higher education. The study aimed to advance knowledge about this underrepresentation based on perspectives of eighteen participants who self-identified as Afro-Brazilian and as women working at the Institute Federal of Bahia (IFBA). I based my investigation on two research questions: What influenced the paths of Afro-Brazilian women to becoming faculty members? What are Afro-Brazilian women educators’ experiences as faculty members in higher education? Due to the nature of the research questions, qualitative methods were best suited to uncovering the meanings participants referred to in three areas: family background, educational trajectory, and professional experience. I use an intersectional theoretical lens that accounts for race, class, gender, and geography for understanding inequalities of Afro-Brazilian women. This approach is inspired by US and Brazilian Black feminisms. My findings showcased five items to increase understanding of Afro-Brazilian women’s paths to higher education. These are race and gender discrimination in higher education, vulnerability of social statuses and struggles to transform them, social interrelationships, recognition of the role of educational policies, and individual dissonances.