The “Burden of Service” as a Barrier to Earning Tenure for Black Women

Abstract While Black students comprise approximately 13% of the student population in United States universities, only 7% of the faculty are Black. Black women account for only 2% of tenured associate and full professor faculty. Reviewing the literature, this chapter argues that the “burden of service” disproportionately affects Black women’s ability to attain tenure and recommends implementing the stages of policymaking at the institutional level to address the problem. Tenure plays a critical role in career advancement and job security. However, the positionality of Black women within the tenure process continues to put them at a disadvantage, with service obligations impeding their progress toward tenure. This chapter is organized into two sections. The first section highlights the implications of the “burden of service” on Black women faculty. The second part proposes institutional-level interventions. More specifically, the chapter proposes policy development and solutions to mitigate Black women’s service burden.