Women of Colour in University.

A.  Kobayashi argues in her essay “Now You See Them, How You See Them: Women of Colour in Canadian Academia” in F. Henry & C.Tator:  “Racism in the Canadian University: Demanding Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equity”, that racism in university is an effect of systematic discrimination. The systematic racism is a result of the Andocentric and Eurocentric structure of the ‘old white boys’ network (Kobayashi 2009, p. 61). Her focus is on women of colour. “The visible minority of women of colour are much more poorly represented than their male counterpart.” (Kobayashi 2009, p. 61) 

Women of colour face two levels of discrimination: marginalized of male and ‘white’ domination.  It is much more difficult for a woman of colour to get a job as an instructor or professor compared to a male of colour or ‘white’ female or ‘white’ men. If you look at universities you will see seldom women or people of colour as an instructor.

In my university only 7 women teach, although around 50% of the students are women. We have only one male professor of colour, although we have many students with an international background. This is a problem. It reminds me of the P. McIntosh text "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack": “I can turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and can see people of my race widely represented” (McIntosh 1989, n.p.). As a ‘white’ person I see professors of my professors at university are widely represented. This is another example of ‘white’ privilege.

One systematic reason could be the structure of the appeal (the process to hire a instructor). The lack of representation of women of colour on appeal is a result of the lack of representation of these women on universities.  If we don´t have women of colour at the university, we don´t have people who can advocate interests of these women and recruit them to an appeal. In Germany an appeal needs 2 years and this process disadvantaged women, because we recruit the applicant, we have seldom an official vacancy (women practice not so much networking like men), the long period is problematic for women with family and this process are often very in transparent, so that the applicants don’t know her/his status .

Generally, this is the same problem with women in an academic position.  If there are only ‘white’ men, they will also recruit men for an empty position at a university. You can compare it with a network.

A few years ago in Germany they started to support women to get them into a university position. The appeal is accompanied with a Gender-Expert. The vacancy has to write in a gender context (not only the men form), they should offer family friendly conditions or with other attractive offers for women etc. We have the appeal-law at most universities, that if you have a woman and a man with the same qualification, you have to hire the women. We should not only support women, we should expand vacancy for people of colour, especially women of colour.

I agree with Kobayashi that the lack of representation of women of colour in universities is a systematic problem.

References:

McIntosh, P. (1989). "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" Peace and

Freedom, 49.

Kobayashi, A. (2009). “Now You See Them, How You SeeThem: Women of Colour in

Canadian Academia” in F. Henry & C. Tator (eds.), Racism in the Canadian University: Demanding Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equity (pp.60-75), Toronto: University of Toronto Press.