A Domains of Power Analysis of the Narratives of Women of Color on Community College STEM Education Pathways

Abstract

Informed by Black feminist thought and intersectional feminism, this study examined the lived experiences of 12 Women of Color on community college STEM education pathways. Participants were current and former community college STEM students, whose narrative interviews were analyzed using Patricia Hill Collins’s domains of power framework. Findings suggest that rather than participants’ experiences being isolated cases, they form a part of a larger pattern of realities that reveal multiple forms of power operating in STEM and beyond. Participants’ experiences of racism and heterosexism intersected with other identities and backgrounds such as being a transfer student, an undocumented student, and a parent. These overlapping and multilayered manifestations of power were found to impact individuals’ abilities to successfully navigate STEM in higher education. While the women of this study critically analyzed their experiences of power and resisted oppression, all stakeholders in the STEM education community must work toward an understanding and dismantling of oppressive power in STEM.