To Code-Switch or Not to Code-Switch: The Psychosocial Ramifications of Being Resilient Black Women Engineering and Computing Doctoral Students

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explored how 21 Black women enrolled in engineering and computing doctoral programs characterize and understand how they code-switch. We define code-switching as when Black women consciously or unconsciously modify the way they behave in engineering and computing environments to dissociate themselves from negative stereotypes held against their intersectional identities across gender and race. Utilizing Black feminist thought (BFT) as a theoretical framework, this study found that Black women experienced a host of detrimental challenges. Due to their environments, participants modified how they dressed and spoke in a conscious attempt to avoid reinforcing negative stereotypes held against Black women (i.e., the angry Black woman, the incompetent Black woman scientist, negative connotations of Black sounding names, and respectability politics of Black womanhood) and instead dispel these myths. To cope with the effects of code-switching, Black women relied heavily on their spirituality and identifying ways to reaffirm their Blackness. The implications of the findings indicate that Black women experience stress due to code-switching because of the stereotypes they encounter at the intersection of their gender and race.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the National Science Foundation for funding this research study (i.e., Award Number: 1548332).

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the NSF [1648332].

Notes on contributors

Breauna M. Spencer

Breauna M. Spencer is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Irvine in the Department of Sociology. She received her undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Education Sciences and master’s degrees in Demographic and Social Analysis and Sociology at UCI as well. She is also a lecturer at Loyola Marymount University. Her research interests include examining the academic, social, and psychological experiences of women and racially underrepresented students within engineering and computer science degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Her research has been published in Sociological Forum and Fat Studies, amongst other outlets.

Sharnnia Artis

Sharnnia Artis serves as vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and chief diversity officer at George Mason University, a position she accepted in 2021. She plans, guides, and advises Mason leadership on diversity, equity, inclusion, and affirmative action matters and antiracism activities and works to enhance and embed these values into all aspects of university operations. She is a university affiliate faculty in the College of Engineering and Computing with research and teaching interests centered on the use of sociotechnical systems to improve STEM diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Her research focuses on the resiliency of students from underrepresented groups in STEM. She previously served as assistant dean of Access and Inclusion in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, both at the University of California, Irvine. She created and sustained student success programs for undergraduate students from various underrepresented groups and established outreach programs for high school and community college students, among other initiatives. She secured a $5 million endowment to sustain and expand existing infrastructure to support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Marjorie Shavers

Marjorie Shavers is an associate professor and the department head of Counseling, Leadership, and Special Education at Missouri State University. She has a PhD in Counselor Education from Ohio State University and is currently licensed as a professional school and professional clinical counselor with supervision designation. Her research agenda focuses on exploring how educational systems and professionals impact the experiences and overall mental health of students, particularly Black women. Her most recent work focuses particularly on the experiences of Black women pursuing doctorates and postdoctorates in computer science and engineering. In addition to her research, her teaching and clinical practice is aimed at enhancing mental health amongst Black women. She was recognized as the 2015 Counselor Educator of the Year from the Ohio Association of Counselor Education and Supervision and received the Distinguished Research and Scholarship Award at Heidelberg University.

Stacie LeSure

Stacie LeSure is the founder and CEO of Engineers for Equity (E4E). E4E is a socially conscious organization committed to applying evidenced-based professional development strategies to inspire current and future STEM professionals to become more self-aware, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent. She earned a PhD in Engineering Education at Utah State University. She also has a Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in physics from Spelman College. Her research interests include inclusive pedagogical practices and the integration of human-centered design and service-learning opportunities to recruit and retain students in engineering degree programs.

Aishwarya Joshi

Aishwarya Joshi is a PhD candidate at Idaho State University. She is a state-licensed counselor in Ohio and Idaho, and she is an NBCC certified counselor—serving various populations in both rural-community-based agencies and private, nonprofit agencies. Her research interests include internationalism within counselor education, intersectionality and racist nativism in counselor education and supervision, and the experiences of Black women in STEM fields. She has presented on various mental health issues both at national and international conferences and symposiums. In addition, she is currently a Leadership fellow for the international honor society Chi Sigma Iota and an active member of the Association of Humanistic Counseling and Association for Adult Development and Aging. She serves as the editorial assistant for Adult Span Journal. She obtained a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Heidelberg University and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology from Tiffin University. She also obtained her Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, psychology, and English literature from India.