Chapter 7: Multivocal Meaning Making: Using Collaborative Autoethnography to Advance Theory on Women and Leadership

After wrapping up a presentation at the International Leadership Conference in San Diego in 2014, we, (Faith and Kathy-Ann) along with another co-presenter, prepared to field questions from the audience. We had just presented the findings of a collaborative autoethnographic study on the experiences of Black women in academe, exploring the intersections of race, gender, class, religion, and leadership (Ngunjiri, Hernandez, & Elbert, 2014). One of the first questions raised by a member of the audience was: “So what? These stories are all great and moving accounts of your experiences, but do they amount to anything other than mere story telling?” We have grown accustomed to hearing and answering this question.