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Defining Accountability among Black and White Women Accomplices

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Mentoring, Case Study of Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Identity Dilemmas, Cultural Homelessness and Intersectionality, and Transfer Students

Tagged Division

Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42892

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42892

Download Count

250

Paper Authors

biography

Monica Farmer Cox The Ohio State University

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Monica F. Cox, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University. Prior to this appointment, she was a Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University, the Inaugural Direc

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biography

Kristen Moore University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

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Kristen R. Moore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at University at Buffalo. Her research focuses primarily on technical communication and issues of equity, inclusion, and social justice.

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Abstract

Developing coalitional, accomplice relationships among Black and white women in the academy is a necessary step to building inclusive and equitable organizations both in and outside of STEM. Yet the field of engineering education has few strategies for establishing and valuing these relationships; instead, organizations often reflect the values of the academy, which is rooted in white supremacist, heteropatriarchal principles and allows for equity and inclusion to maintain (rather than redress) inequities. Coalitions, on the other hand, seek enduring relationships that advocate for justice, engage in deep listening, and take risks to protect one another. A central mechanism for coalitional work is accountability that results in Black women holding white women accountable without fear of punishment, which in the workplace, can result in loss of organizational access, position, or worse.

Using a Black Feminist approach, this paper suggests that accomplices working in coalition must hold one another accountable in order to build and maintain inclusive cultures. After using qualitative data to describe the need for Black and white women coalitions, the paper outlines three approaches to accountability that might support Black and white women as they build coalitions. We argue that both institutional and personal accountability ought to consider: 1) Protection of the most marginalized members of the organization; 2) Restoration and repair in the wake of harm; 3) Transparency about the ways harm and protection are dealt with. Then we provide case studies to illustrate the ways each of these guidelines have been implemented at a range of institutions.

Cox, M. F., & Moore, K. (2023, June), Defining Accountability among Black and White Women Accomplices Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42892

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