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Women of Color faculty continue to experience many challenges in their careers, especially in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As such, more research is needed that considers structural issues inhibiting their success. Using structuration theory and critical race feminism as a conceptual framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 faculty and administrators in STEM departments at higher education institutions to investigate their perceptions of structural impediments impacting early-career Women of Color STEM faculty careers. Our findings revealed the need to establish policies that are clear, documented, and transparent. Additionally, incremental approaches to tenure and promotion evaluations should be reconsidered, especially when this approach may position Women of Color faculty to appear as if they are underperforming, when the opposite may be true. Furthermore, as higher education institutions endeavor to diversify the professoriate, this study is significant in enabling institutions and STEM departments to be aware of systemic issues confronting them to make significant inroads in retaining and advancing Women of Color faculty in these disciplines. 

Women of color (WOC) professors confront distinct problems in academic institutions due to the intersection of their gender, cultural, and racial identities. Using role congruity theory and intersectionality as a conceptual framework, this study investigated how bias influenced the experiences of WOC professors in the STEM disciplines and the consequences for advancement. Role congruity theory evaluates leadership conduct less positively when performed by a woman, which makes it harder for women to achieve or persist in leadership roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002). As such, we examined the intricate interaction of role congruity and intersectionality (compounded oppression due to having multiple marginalized identities) among WOC professors through in-depth interviews with three tenured and five pre-tenured WOC faculty members from various US universities. The findings offer insight into their' challenges with unwelcoming instructional environments, institutional culture, and prejudice towards their leadership roles, undermining their evaluation and professional development. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the critical need for institutional reform in creating supportive and inclusive workplaces for WOC scholars.