Serving Whom? An Exploration of Cultural Taxation Themes in Latinx Graduate Students

Cultural taxation refers to the extra responsibilities (e.g., increased service expectations, serving as unofficial diversity consultants) placed on members of marginalized racial groups within academia. However, the extant literature on cultural taxation does not clearly indicate the extent to which that research applies to graduate students as members of academia who often fulfill similar tasks and roles as faculty. Furthermore, the academic context of a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) is particularly relevant to this line of work as this designation, while projecting an image that an institution is inclusive, is not directly representative of the institution’s commitment to equitable practices. The goal of the present research is to identify how Latinx graduate students are potentially taxed and whether their experiences of cultural taxation are analogous to the taxation that faculty experience. Transcripts from 20 interviews with Latinx students at an HSI were analyzed via qualitative thematic analysis to identify potential themes of this sample’s experiences with cultural taxation. Findings suggest that Latinx graduate students’ cultural taxation converge in some ways with faculty patterns, but with key exceptions. Major themes from students’ responses include a sense of increased distance and lack of support from one’s home department, as well as difficulties integrating diversity and inclusion work cleanly into their graduate careers. These findings supplement existing cultural taxation literature by highlighting the experiences of an underrecognized population within academia and presenting initial findings for taxations imposed on this group. Keywords: cultural taxation, graduate students, Latinx students, identity taxation, thematic analysis