RII-Track 4 - Experiencing The Matrix of Power Dynamics For Undergraduate And Graduate Black Women In Computing to Understand their Intersectional Experiences

Understanding the experiences of Black women in computing, who experience racism and sexism at the same time, provides insights that can help support Black women more effectively. This research will study Black women’s unique perspectives in Computer Science (CS) education and computing, including the trials and triumphs experienced as Black women navigate various computing spaces (academic, professional, personal, etc.).

Additionally, this research will explore just and equitable approaches to communicating those experiences to CS educators and those outside of the community of Black women. This fellowship will take place at the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech, working with an internationally recognized researcher in equity in CS education.

The fellowship will provide training to the PI and a graduate student in approaches to designing, enacting, and assessing more equitable computing spaces that can better support Black women. By coupling those approaches with the PI’s approach to describing the unique perspective into computing that Black women provide through their lived experiences, the proposed research will develop theory and practice that can be used to create spaces that broaden and deepen the engagement of Black women in the field, bringing the nation closer to CS For All.

This fellowship will provide training for the PI and a graduate student to understand the matrix of power dynamics that Black women encounter in computing as well as the forms of agency they acquire and develop to persist. The work will focus on examining the experiences of Black women in different computing contexts at various stages to articulate a Black women’s standpoint as they contend with racism and sexism, simultaneously, in computing.

This research will identify design principles that can be applied to create more equitable spaces that are more inclusive, welcoming, and supportive for Black women. Finally, this research will explore the affordances of approaches to communicate those experiences in ways that authentically portray and honor the complexities and range of experiences while also developing empathy for and action around promoting equity and sustained engagement in computing.

The development of methodologies for articulating the matrix of power dynamics in computing will be transformative for the PI’s research program. The fellowship will generate new theories that can help the field better understand the experiences of other marginalized groups, new principles for designing equitable spaces for these groups, and non-traditional approaches for communicating those experiences to others inside and outside of the field.

The proposed project will establish a collaboration between leaders in the fields of intersectional computing and equity in computing education, as well as provide actionable insights that will support the commitment to create and enact more equitable computing spaces taken up by the PI’s department at the PI’s home institution.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.