Chapter 8: Putting an End to Outside Looking in: It’s Time for Women of Color in Higher Education to Create Social Capital

Accessibility to career networks and resources can be essential to the success of women faculty of color and as Combs (2003) suggests, professionals in their quest for more favorable status in terms of position level and earning power require access to career networks. Furthermore, according to Forret and Dougherty (2004), there is a relationship between participation in networking and career outcomes or perceived career success. The duality of race and gender can create a distinctive challenge to gaining access to a career network, which is a crucial component to career advancement. As such, this chapter highlights social capital through the personal narratives of women staff and faculty of color in higher education, describing their mentoring and networking experiences in addition to their access to resources and support. As a framework for this discussion, social capital offers a lens for exploring support and mentoring for women of color in higher education.