Andrews, Adrienne This paper is based on interviews conducted with African American women who are members of the faculties of selected colleges and universities in the Midwest, South, and New England. During the interviews, each respondent was asked to describe the most pressing issue she faced as a woman in academe and specifically as a Black woman. The data provide a more comprehensive picture of this group of women's experiences when compared to the data of the interviewees from the other regions. The responses reveal the significance of sexism, racism, and classism in their professional and personal lives. At the time of the first interviews in 1986 and 1987, the women ranged in ages from 35 to 70 and were in various stages of their professional careers.
All names used are pseudonyms.
I discerned two patterns of responses to the bicultural stress associated with the Black women's unique position within the academy in the interview narratives. Bane, K. Denise Time and again the popular and academic literature have touted the changing workforce to come. The workforce will continue to become more diverse as the number of women and people of color grow. As the percent of professional women of color rises, the need to address the particular concerns of this group will increase as well. One such area of concern is the extent to which women of color have the opportunity to influence decisions within the organization.