ABSTRACT
Asian and Asian American women (AAAW) faculty members face unique challenges along their career trajectories, and they are vastly underrepresented among upper professoriate and administrative ranks (Hartlep, 2014; National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). What can universities do to break the proverbial bamboo and glass ceilings and support the career advancement of AAAW faculty leaders? In this study we examine how organizational barriers and interpersonal biases differentially inhibit the leadership goals of faculty who are AAAW, White, or non-AAAW people of color. Results from an online survey of 547 faculty members from 24 universities revealed that AAAW generally expressed a strong desire to pursue administrative and academic leadership positions but were inhibited by institutional barriers. Experiencing discrimination increased participants’ desire to become academic leaders. Collectively, these findings reinforce bamboo and glass ceiling arguments, as our data indicate that many AAAW intend to become academic leaders but are deterred by institutional barriers.
