On Diversity, Identity and Socialization: Inequality of Educational Outcomes

This essay begins with a presentation of the author’s personal and professional background relative to the topics of diversity, identity, socialization, and the inequality of educational outcomes. Turner then presents US census and Chronicle of Higher Education data to provide a national context for the discussion to follow, including but not limited to implications for policy. Findings emerging from narratives collected via interviews as well as from relevant extant literature are then described to portray issues involved in the underrepresentation of Latinx women as students and professors in higher education. How role identity and identifiers used to categorize Latinx women are then presented followed by a discussion of the Latinx designation and privilege. Educational outcomes for Latinx women are then presented, demonstrating racial/ethnic/gender imbalance. Recommendations on how this underrepresentation of Latinx women, as well as other marginalized groups, in K-12 and postsecondary education can be addressed are then presented.


Introduction
This essay examines the terms of diversity and identity from my personal and scholarly perspective as a faculty woman of color. 1 Given current policies, practices, and processes creating imbalances, one's diverse identities, according to demographic data and student/faculty/administrator narratives, produce educational inequalities based on racial/ethnic and gender affiliations (Turner, 2002(Turner, , 2015(Turner, , 2017Turner & Myers, 2000).
Insights based on my scholarly journey, spanning over three decades, beginning as a farm laborer in California to working in various higher education roles-as a faculty member, a scholar, an academic program director, and interim dean on eight college campuses of different sizes and missions, located within three state contexts in the United States (Minnesota, Arizona, and California)-are presented. In addition, I served as president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), an international professional organization. In most of these roles, I was the first and/or the only woman of color to be placed. 2 Based on research findings, ethnic/racial and gender identity along with the educational outcomes aligned with students/faculty/administrators of color are presented. There are numerous ways to approach diversity and identity, but my focus will be on gender and racial/ethnic diversity related to educational outcomes.
My path from farm laborer to academic laborer involved learning what is expected to become a successful academic. We are socialized by policies, practices, and processes governing our profession (Kozier & Erb, 1988;Van Maanan, 1984). However, in becoming socialized, one must not lose sight of knowledge gained during one's early life. Reflecting on intellectual development from childhood on underscores the continued importance of acknowledging who we are and how our lifelong experience shapes approaches to research… "who you are shapes the types of questions you ask, the kinds of issues which interest you, and the ways in which you go about seeking solutions" (Turner, 2015, p. 351). Furthering this idea, researchers provide critical insight into the power of organizational structure to craft a workplace environment and shape internal policies that can either facilitate or hinder individual progress (Goffman, 1961;Kanter, 1977;Museus, 2014;Stanton-Salazar & Spina, 2000;Turner, 1994). In other words, for example, my learning was shaped by who was and who was not teaching in my program, by who was and who was not a student in my program, by who was around the table and who was not at the table, and so on. In other words, what one is exposed to and what one is not exposed to shapes our learning. However, on campuses, participants can be changes as well as agents of change. These realizations provide a foundation for 1 In this article, terms such as "women of color," students of color," "faculty of color," and "people of color" are used to refer to people of African American, American Indian, Asian Pacific American, and Latino origin. In doing so, the author understands that "people of color" do not constitute a monolithic group. The author recognizes that whites are also members of a distinct racial category. And certainly by using the individual racial and ethnic categories no intent is made to imply that all persons so "designated" experience anything in a uniform way. In all cases, when speaking about any racial or ethnic population, the category used does not capture the full cultural dimensions of the people being described. In fact, historically, identifiers are fluid and dynamic rather than static or rigid (Ramirez & Blay, 2016). As Padilla (1994) correctly points out, more research is needed to clearly understand intra-group variability. In Green's (1989) words, "we only hope that readers will keep their sights on the challenge and the solutions rather than the vehicle of expression. Language has its limitations, human potential has few" (p. xvii). 2 For example, I was the first Asian Pacific-Islander (API) to be elected president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), and the first Latina hired in a tenure track position in higher education at the University of Minnesota. me as I advocate for diverse life experiences reflected in the professoriate and among leaders in higher education.

The United States Census and Faculty Representation by Gender/Race/Ethnic Background
Before presenting my personal journey in the U.S. professoriate, an overall demographic context within which I and other faculty of color work is provided from data presented in the United States Census, followed by trends of faculty representation by gender and race/ethnicity.

The United States Census
The United States census is held once every 10 years, to count the number of people in the country along with gathering basic information, including age, sex, and race. The last censuses were held in 2010 and 2020 (US Census Bureau, 2010, 2020. The population of the US is highly diverse and continues to grow, driven by a high level of immigration. The country's racial profile will be vastly different, and although whites will remain the single largest racial group in the US, they will no longer be a majority by 2055 according to Pew Research Center (2015). Growth in the Hispanic and Asian populations is predicted to almost triple over the next 40 years. Currently, of the total population of more than 318 million are: White Americans, the majority at 73.3% (although this drops to 65.8% when the substantial Hispanic population is included); the largest minority group are Black or African Americans at 12.6%; while Asians represent 5.2%; just over 3% of the population identifies as being of two or more races, while there are very small minorities of American Indian and Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders at 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively. By 2060, the breakdown is projected to be the following: 68.5% White (43.6% Non-Hispanic), 14.3% Black, 1.3% American Indian, and 9.3% Asian. The overall Hispanic population is expected to increase from 17.4% to 28.6%. By 2044, the non-Hispanic White population is expected to drop below 50% of the total population. At this point the US will become a "majority-minority" country, where no single racial or ethnic group is more than 50% of the total population. Of the single race groups, the Asian population is expected to be the fastest growing one over the next 50 years, moving from 5.4% of the total population to 9.3%. All other racial groups are also expected to increase as a percentage of the U.S. population (for more details, see https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/united-states-population). While dramatic demographic changes are taking place in the country, these changes are not represented on our college campuses, especially in the gender and racial/ethnic representation amongst the professoriate.

Faculty Representation by Gender/Race/Ethnic Background at the Full Professor Rank
Within the overall population context presented above, data are provided to describe the demography of the professoriate. Inhabiting the highest faculty rank in higher education, full professors can play influential roles in decisions determining an inclusive campus climate.
Recent data document the historical trend of underrepresentation of faculty of color in the professoriate, and the fact that as professorial rank increases, representation of men and women of color decrease. For example, in a 2016 on-line interactive database, published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the demographics of more than 400,000 professors are examined by rank, gender, race/ethnicity, and tenure status at 1,500 colleges. Based on these data, Ben Myers's (2016) overall finding was that "on average, 75 out of every 100 full-time faculty members at four-year colleges are White. [Ten are Asian], five are Black, and even fewer are Hispanic [and American Indian]… Among the higher ranks…the faculty is even less diverse." Specifically, at all Carnegie Classification 3 campuses, of the 134, 155 male and female full professors with tenure in public and private colleges, 82% are White, 3% Hispanic, 3% Black, 9% Asian and 0.3% American Indian. While the numbers reveal the continuing trend of underrepresentation, qualitative information based on actual lived experience is needed to provide further understanding of pathways to the full professor rank. In my research, I use the latter approach to further explain what the numbers mean for faculty of color working in organizations and in departments where they are typically a distinct minority. Within this context, the following sections of this essay provides narratives about the socialization experiences of minoritized faculty. These findings emerge from my background, from my experiences in academe, from my research findings which document the experiences of others, and from the extant literature. In my view, researchers who study topics important to them learn a great deal about themselves and their world in the process. This personal learning or self-insight stays with you.
My qualitative research approach uses the narrative as legitimate scholarship. This approach has a rich tradition which views narratives obtained from interviews or the telling of your personal story as important sources of knowledge of the human experience (Armitage, 2002;Burciaga & Navarro, 2015;Clark, 2008;Creswell, 2007;Gluck, 2002;Harper, 2009;Lincoln & Guba, 1985;Nash, 2004;Reddick & Sáenz, 2012;Solorzano & Yosso, 2002). Lincoln and Guba (1985) contend that such qualitative research methods are most appropriate for examining the nuances of human behavior in its social context, capturing the complexity of the human experience.
Additionally, other scholars use varied approaches to examine trends leading to unequal educational representation and participation for students, faculty, and administrators of color persist. For example, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, preeminent scholars addressed the topic, The Elusive Quest for Civil Rights in Education. Authors agreed that while there is an increase in the numbers of students of color participating in education, they also provided evidence of persistent inequities related to the continued resistance to the "inclusion of ethnic content" in the curriculum, "disparities in rich and poor children's access to well-qualified teachers," the fact that "Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans remain less likely to pursue degrees beyond the baccalaureate," the growing Black-White wealth gap, and the increasing stratification of higher education, yielding "separate postsecondary pathways for Whites and for [Latinos] and African Americans" (Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, 2014;Turner et al., 2017).

Personal Journey from Farm Labor to Academic Labor
I am proud to be a part of a very supportive and inspiring immigrant family representing the racial, ethnic, social, sexual, religious, economic, and political diversity of the US. The photo below represents some, not all, of my family members-my children, parents, nieces and nephews as well as 3 The Carnegie Classification® has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four and a half decades. Starting in 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed a classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. Derived from empirical data on colleges and universities, the Carnegie Classification was originally published in 1973, and subsequently updated in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 to reflect changes among colleges and universities. This framework has been widely used in the study of higher education, both as a way to represent and control for institutional differences, and also in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students, or faculty (The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, n.d.). their children. However, I am thinking of our entire family as I write this paper. "It is to the past, present and future generations, that I dedicate these words" (Turner, 2015, p. 335).

Figure 1
Caroline Turner's Family Photo Collage My mother, Gabriella, is Mexican American and my father is Filipino. I grew up on farm labor camps in California and am the oldest and first in my family of eight siblings to attend college. This experience and the realization of the importance of education for marginalized groups, including immigrants, are strong intrinsic motivators for the work I have done and continue to do.
I always say that I never left the farm, growing up on farm labor camps in California, attending the University of California Davis, The Farm Campus of the University of California, on to Stanford University, also known as "The Farm," and at Arizona State University, my office was located in the Farmer Building…In fact, "I grew up as a Latina/Filipina doing fieldwork, and now [to this day], as a qualitative researcher, I find it amusing that I still find myself doing field work. (Turner, 2015, p. 337).
Memories of life on a farm labor camp, on one hand, are of a beautiful place full of family shared experiences, laughter, lovely landscapes, and hard work. It is also a stark place where poverty, illness without the benefit of health insurance, and lack of knowledge about educational options can work to constrain one's dreams (Turner, 2012). There are few safety nets or second chances here.

Figure 2
Caroline with her Mom, Gabriella, taken at a farm labor camp in California   The Farm Labor Camp Interviews with students (Turner, 1993(Turner, , 1994(Turner, , 2015 and faculty (Turner & Myers, 2000) as well as presidents of college campuses (Turner, 2007) coupled with personal experiences, indicate that the environment of higher education institutions could be described in similar terms-beautiful places full of wonderful learning memories, laughter, and lovely landscapes, but they can also be stark, unwelcoming places where lack of economic resources, lack of academic knowledge and a lack of understanding of student and faculty opportunities within higher education can work to constrain the horizons of those in the minority and perceived as not belonging in higher education (see Table 1). The above table indicates the facilitators and challenges found in both low-income farm contexts and privileged college environments as described by students and faculty of color interviewed to examine their lived experiences. For example, students indicate that they, as men and women of color, feel apart from rather than a part of the student life into which they were being socialized -at best, they felt as though they were guests in someone else's house (Turner, 1994). Students described a feeling of incongruence or not fitting in. Guests in someone else's house feel that they can never relax and put their feet up on the table. Guests are not family, whose foibles and mistakes are tolerated. On the contrary, guests must follow the house rules such as keeping out of certain rooms, not touching anything, leaving everything in its place, and guests must always be on their best behavior. Guests have little or no history in the house they occupy. There are no photographs on the wall that reflect their image. Their paraphernalia, paintings, scents, and sounds do not appear in the house. There are many barriers for students who constantly occupy the guest room that keeps them from doing their best work. An American Indian student states: I didn't need help for academics . . . but . . . I needed emotional support; an informal get-together place. A place you feel comfortable. You feel a sense of community. . .Seeing another Indian face is real important -making that connection. This is something taken for granted by the white majority [who always see other white faces]. (Turner, 1994, pp. 361-362) Faculty describe their experience in these ways, an African American male full professor and Dean at a major research university, who describes our need to reframe institutional interactions and policies, with regard to the recruitment and retention of faculty of color, to be more nurturing. He states: "We are not succeeding and I think it's because we are still looking at this process [recruitment and retention of faculty of color] as a sorting and weeding, rather than an affirming and building" (Turner & Myers, 2000, p. 88).
Many of my graduate students say that I am the first and only woman of color they have had as a professor and were encouraged to pursue their own careers due to my teachings and research. Several scholars of color, now highly respected professors and leaders in higher education, say that they better understood their experience in academe as a result of reading my publications, such as A Guest in Someone Else's House: Students of Color on Campus (Turner, 1994). In particular, I am recognized for my work resulting in publications advancing the dialogue on faculty gender and racial/ethnic diversity. These works include Faculty of Color in Academe: Bittersweet Success (with Myers, Jr., 2000), Diversifying the Faculty: A Guidebook for Search Committees (Turner, 2002), and a book (with González, 2014) Modeling Mentoring across Race/Ethnicity and Gender: Practices to Cultivate the Next Generation of Diverse Faculty. Research on mentoring across race, ethnicity, and gender underscores the importance of supporting one another, within and across our differences, in meaningful ways, whether large or small (Stanton-Salazar & Spina, 2000;Turner, 2012;Turner & González, 2014;Turner et al., 2008).
Other scholars also provide views on mentoring, which are student and change focused rather than continuing to promote the status quo. For example, Bozeman and Fenney (2007) concluded that mentoring relationships could satisfy the needs of the participants rather than existing solely for the benefit of supporting current organizational goals and missions, essentially impacting and transforming internal policy dynamics. In a similar vein, Bernstein, Jacobson, and Russo (2010) deduced that "The goal of mentoring is not simply to teach the system, but also to change the system so that it becomes more flexible and responsive to the needs and pathways of its members-mentors and protégés" (p. 58). This mentoring process, exemplified by the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (Turner, 2012) and CompuGirls (Scott, 2015), moves toward organizational transformation.
Reflecting on my background and empirical research conducted, brings me to acknowledge the importance of how one identifies and how one's experience and work is affected by our identity/identities. I am a multi-racial/multi-ethnic woman of color-a Latina/Filipina, born in Lompoc, California. I am part of a large immigrant, diverse family and am a first-generation college student; the only one in my immediate family to earn a doctorate and to pursue a career as a professor.
The next section of this essay will focus on the fluidity of identifying terminology for Latinx women. While identifiers for other race/ethnic/gender affiliations are equally fluid, due to space constraints, the focus will be on identifiers for Latinx women and how this affiliation aligns with their educational outcomes. According to Ramirez and Blay (2016), historically, identifiers are fluid and dynamic rather than static or rigid. Underlying questions are who gets to decide these categories and, once categorized, how might this affect one's life chances? Published manuscripts describe the complexity of identifying as a Latinx woman (Moreno, 2016) and the data previously presented reports the low representation, almost invisibility of Latinx women among the ranks of faculty (Myers, 2016).

Race/Ethnic Identifiers: Fluid, Socially Constructed, Aligned with Life Outcomes
Nieves-Squires (1991) used the designator "Hispanic" to refer to people of Cuban, Mexican, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish ancestry or descent. Hispanic is also the term used in several datasets referred to in this paper. Niemann notes that "like the term Hispanic, the label Latina/o is inclusive of all persons of Spanish-speaking descent" (2002, xii).
Niemann (2003) describes the label Chicana/o and Xicana/o (here, the x is said to signify indigenous roots) as referring to U.S. citizens or residents of Mexican descent. She describes this term as being popular among activists and states that feminists added the label Chicana "in an effort toward gender inclusivity and recognition of women's experiences" (p. xii). Also, "like the term Hispanic, the label Latina/o is inclusive of all persons of Spanish-speaking descent" (p. xii). González and Gándara (2005) write that many call themselves Latinas (the "as" in Latinas also identifies them as women) to "acknowledge their non-European heritage while affirming their dignity and expressing confidence in their growing political importance" (p. 398). Cuádraz (2005) notes that women of Mexican origin will number an estimated 32 million, representing 8% of the total U.S. population, in 2050. Niemann reminds us, however, that "a label does not define a woman or her ideology and that labels are fluid and, for many women, interchangeable" (2002, xii). Historical contexts for the changes in identifiers are described in other publications. 4 Also, scholars note that racial and ethnic identities are socially constructed and variable for different individuals and communities rather than fixed (Torres et al., 2012;Valdez, 2013). From a policy perspective, social constructs are often set by those in power (typically void of people of color) and inevitably trickle-up to form and communicate policies, leading to monolithically defining one's identity through a set terminology and, thus, shaping organization's view of said populations.
Recently, I served as one of four co-editors for the Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) Journal Special Issue titled, "Answering the Call: Hispanic-Serving Institutions as Leaders in the Quest for Access, Excellence, and Equity in American Higher Education" (Arámbula Ballysingh et al., 2017). The AMAE journal welcomes manuscripts on all research topics related to the education of Mexican-American/Latino students. As we were reviewing the manuscripts submitted, the authors of each article, when speaking about Mexican-Americans and Latinos, used one or more of the following identifiers: Hispanic, Latino/a, Latin@, and Latinx. We discussed how to address these variations. One author's cover letter specifically addressed this stating: "Although there is a move to use the term "Latinx," here we have chosen not to do so. If the volume prefers the use of particular terms, we can certainly modify and/or insert an explanatory footnote." We, as coeditors, advocate for the use of Latinx in the forward of the special issue, but accepted the preferred term used by each paper author(s). Zerquera, Haywood, and De Mucha Flores (in press) argue that in defining an individual and group identity as "Latinx" employs a sociological rather than heritage-based definition. In doing so, the focus turns from the ethnic and cultural origins of Latinx identification, and instead centers within the social construction of racial and ethnic identity (Zerquera et al., in press). " The use of an x instead of an o or an a can be used to connote a feminine or masculine identification without privileging one over the other. Furthermore, it is inclusive of people whose gender expression exists outside the gender binary of wo/man (Arámbula Ballysingh et al.,p. 9)." Ramirez and Blay (2016) note that: Latinx is the gender-neutral alternative to Latino, Latina and even Latin@. Used by scholars, activists and an increasing number of journalists, Latinx is quickly gaining popularity among the general public. It's part of a "linguistic revolution" that aims to move beyond gender binaries and is inclusive of the intersecting identities of Latin American descendants. In addition to men and women from all racial backgrounds, Latinx also makes room for people who are trans, queer, agender, non-binary, gender non-conforming or gender fluid. (For more details, see Ramirez & Blay, 2016).
However, others such as Salinas and Lozano (2017) argue that "using the term Latinx does not necessarily create inclusivity to all communities of people, as many people still have not seen or heard, agree with, or understand the term Latinx" (p. 11). emerged from political activism, both reflect collective efforts toward achieving solidarity within the broadly defined and diverse Latinx community (Caminero-Santangelo, 2007). Today, the terms imply different meanings for different people, with Latino being more widely used within the western geographical region of the U.S. and Hispanic being more widely used in the southwest and eastern regions (Office of Management and Budget, 1997). Although Latinx emerged in the early 2000s within queer activist spaces, it has more recently appeared within higher education (Salinas & Lozano, 2017). The term was introduced as an effort to encompass the fluidity of gender identity and to help move our community forward by providing spaceeven as a modest beginning through language-in which trans* and gender non-conforming Latinxs might identify (Pastrana et al., 2017;Reichard, 2015)."

Latinx and Privilege
Given varied reasons individuals chose to adopt Latina/o/x/Hispanic and so on as identifiers, even those who have decided to identify themselves as Latinx urge us to consider how one can be Latinx and privileged. To inform her audience of how Latinx and privilege intersect, Moreno (2016) points to a video by Kat Lazo, a YouTube personality. Lazo says she understands that Latinxs are marginalized by the media, by public policies and by society, and further states, "But we're not all marginalized in the same way or even to the same degree. It's all dependent on a multitude of factors." She goes on to list her set of privileges based on several factors: her immigration status as she is a U.S. citizen and does not fear being deported or being separated from her parents; her class as, even though her parents were working class, she is middle class and grew up in a predominantly white community which also determined where she went to school and the quality of education she received); her gender; Lazo is a cisgendered woman, which means she identifies with the gender she was assigned to at birth. As such, states that she does not experience the internal struggles with her gender identity and fear that she will be harmed when using a public restroom; and she explains that Latinx is an ethnicity and can be identified with any race. Lazo identifies as indigenous but acknowledges her light skin privilege. Because of colorism, she is treated better and is perceived as smarter than her dark skin brothers and sisters. However, she underscores not to become complacent with light skin privilege as it does not work, for example, when she gets together with friends and they speak Spanish in a public place. They have been told that in America, we speak English. At the end of her video, we can see how the nuances of her identity have adverse or beneficial effects on her quality of life. Lazo concludes that yes, she is marginalized by society but she is also privileged in some instances. She stresses the importance of understanding one's privileges so we can fight against perpetuating oppression and racism, and become allies to others. Please see the video as this summary attempts to capture her meaning for the reader, but cannot substitute for her insightful and informative presentation.

Implications for Life Chances: Unequal Educational Outcomes for Latinx Women
Based on the discussion above, we can see the complexity of individual identity coupled with the identifiers one chooses to use in personal and professional contexts. Going back to a previous question, how might identity affect one's life chances? In the context of education, we find the following summary provided by Gándara (2015) 5 : One in five women in the U.S. is a Latina. One in four female students in public schools across the nation is a Latina. Projections are that by 2060, Latinas will form nearly a third of the female population of the nation. Thus, the future of the nation is very much tied to the future of these women and girls. Latinas are making progress…In the decade between 2003 and 2013, Latinas raised their high school graduation rate by more than 14 percentage points... They have been steadily increasing in college degree attainment by about .5 percentage points each year, and over the last decade they have raised their representation between 30% and 40% in teaching, law, medicine, and management professions. Latina-owned businesses are also growing at a faster rate than businesses for all women and accounted for more than $71 billion in receipts in 2014. In spite of a myriad of barriers, Latinas have made significant progress over the last decade, yet they are not all faring as well as they must… if they are to…make important contributions to the society and the economy. 5 Please note when directly referring to authors and their work, identifiers used are those used by the authors.
As a group, Latinas begin school significantly behind other females and without adequate resources and supports, they are never able to catch up to their peers. Latinas graduate from high school at lower rates than any major subgroup; more than one in five has not completed high school by age 29. Latinas are also the least likely of all women to complete a college degree, at just 19% compared to nearly 44% of white women. Many of the barriers that hold Latinas back are related to poverty. One-fourth of Latinas live below the poverty line and more than half are living in near-poverty. This sometimes makes high school graduation challenging due to competing work and family demands, makes higher education difficult to access, and student debt impossible to sustain. Low levels of education lead to lack of opportunity in the job market where Latinas make only 56 cents for every dollar earned by white males (Gándara, 2015, p. 5).
As we can see from the above summary, while Latinx women are making progress in education and in the workplace, as a group, they are very much behind. As full professors in higher education, they are so few as to be nearly invisible. With 3% of the full-time full professors being Hispanic, this pattern is demonstrated in the annual demographic reports of full-time faculty published in the Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac (2014). Furthermore, data presented by Myers (2016) indicate that of the 58, 908 male and female full professors with tenure in very high active research universities in the public and private sector, 84% are White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black, 11% Asian and 0.22% American Indian. Of the 3% Hispanic full professors (total of 1,760) in these highranking universities, 1,306 are males and 454 are females. Thus, Hispanic females are severely underrepresented. Typically, as Latinx women move up their educational and career ladders, they remain similarly underrepresented. Comparable patterns appear for Black, Asian, and American Indian women full professors. Overall, these data document the fact that those aligned with racial/ethnic/gender identifiers also reflect an imbalance in terms of educational outcomes with White women the most represented and Latinx, Black, Asian, and American Indian women being extremely underrepresented.

Racial/Ethnic/Gender Inequality in Education
In other words, life opportunities are aligned with racial/ethnic/gender affiliation. For example, citing "unfair differences in learning opportunities," Wong and Silver (2018), note that the odds of black and Latino high-school graduates enrolling in college are much lower than for Asian-Americans [and Whites] …. One of the realities of being black or Latino in America is that your group on the whole has more opportunities to demonstrate the ability to overcome challenges like substandard schools and poverty….

Inequality in the K-12 Teacher Workforce
The K-12 teacher workforce data also reflect low representation of Latinx teachers similar to the situation as reported for college faculty. One can argue that the underrepresentation of Latinx faculty begins with pre-school education experiences and later. As this paper focuses on schooling experiences so does the following discussion which is excerpted from a previous publication .
The data for faculty representation is reported above. Data for K-12 teachers shows that while the representation of Latinx teachers in our K-12 schools has increased to nearly 8% of the teacher workforce, this growth has not kept pace with corresponding student demographic shifts. Currently, 82% of public school teachers identify as White, and are primarily women. Meanwhile, approximately 25% of students in U.S. public schools identified as Hispanic (National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 2011-2012; U.S. Department of Education, 2016, p. 1). Irizarry and Donaldson (2012) underscore that while there are non-Hispanic teachers who effectively teach Hispanic youth, studies provide evidence that suggest 1) academic, psychological, and social benefits are cultivated when students of color are taught by teachers of color; 2) teachers of color are more likely to value the knowledge and cultural frames of reference students ''bring to school''; 3) teachers of color tend to hold higher expectations for minoritized students; 4) teachers' perceptions influence student aspirations and likely achievement; and 5) teachers of color typically enter the profession with a heightened awareness of the sociopolitical contexts in which students of color are educated (p. 156). For Latinx classroom success, students need teachers peppered throughout their educational experience who know and value their community's inherent assets, who understand and can communicate with parents, and who serve as role models. Similar arguments are made for the representation of faculty of color, including Latinx faculty, in college classrooms (Turner et al., 2008).

Recommendations to Increase Access for Latinx Teacher and Faculty Representation
Emerging from the literature noted above, recommendations relevant for increasing Latinx teacher and faculty representation include the development of supportive pathways from early schooling experiences (positive experiences in the classroom inspire students to become teachers and/or faculty) to the more advanced stage of the teaching workplace (being treated as a valued colleague). Processes to increase representation are processes that are circular and iterative. Early experiences influence later choices to become a teacher/faculty member. In turn, students are encouraged to pursue teaching/faculty careers if they have positive learning experiences in school and in college contexts.

Continued Investment in Latinx Teacher Preparation and Efforts to Increase Latinx Faculty in Colleges
For example, colleges categorized as Hispanic Serving Institutions 6 (HSIs) graduate 40% of Latinx baccalaureates in the United States. Thus, federal, state, and institutional investment in HSI teacher preparation programs would do much to support the recruitment and development of future Latinx teachers. In 2017, for example, three HSIs in the California State University System (CSUS) were awarded more than $8 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The grants were granted to support the development of the Latinx teacher pipeline within CSU Sacramento, Sonoma, and Long Beach. A Sacramento State newsletter stated that the "Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program funding will help empower Hispanic and bilingual students pursuing a teaching credential with the tools they need to succeed and graduate" (Sacramento State News, 2017).
Other programs focus on postsecondary completion as well as Latinx Teacher Recruitment (Gross, 2017). After postsecondary completion, efforts to increase completion of graduate programs 6 A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined as an institution of higher education that-(A) is an eligible institution; and (B) has an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25% Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application.
(https://www2.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/definition.html) leading to faculty positions must also take place followed by efforts to get candidates hired… [efforts would create] …" landscapes in which [faculty] from all backgrounds have greater career options, and the specific career development of women from [minority] backgrounds" (Flaherty, p. 3). These efforts would include, providing research support for faculty of color, particularly for nontenured faculty, facilitate opportunities for mentorship, establish recruitment/hiring/retention plans to diversify the faculty, institutionalize diversity goals, and establish transparent and inclusive standards for judging faculty for tenure and promotion decisions.

Implement More "Grow Your Own" Partnership Programs
As noted in Turner et al (2017), David McDonald describes below the Western Oregon University Bilingual Teacher Scholars Program, a successful "grow your own" initiative on his campus: Latinxs comprise nearly one-quarter of Oregon's students, but only 4% of licensed teachers. Within this context, the Western Oregon University Bilingual Teacher Scholars Program offers an innovative partnership.
Western Oregon University (WOU), two of Oregon's largest school districts, two local smaller districts, Oregon's most diverse school district, and a community college have created a partnership that will seek to address the lack of Latinx teachers. Scholars receive a generous financial support package that is built upon federal and state aid. The university provides at least $4,000 per year in scholarship support and partner school districts hire students each summer to work as tutors or classroom assistants. The cohorts meet monthly for professional development and social activities designed to maintain student progress towards degree completion and the commencement of a successful teaching career. The lack of additional scholarship funding prevents this program from scaling up to serve more school districts (see https://wou.edu/teachered/bingual-teacherscholars/).
Another example of a grow your own program is the Logan Square Neighborhood Association in Chicago. This program seeks to help educators and community members become certified teachers. Postsecondary institutions are making similar efforts to attract professionals from the community to apply for faculty positions and/or provide bridge programs to the professoriate for those completing graduate programs.

Increase Financial Support to Latinx Students
There are several ways this might be accomplished, including strengthening federal financial aid support, by offering scholarships and programming for low-income Latinx students entering the K-12 teaching field or for those preparing for a college faculty career. In addition, statewide initiatives might be created to fund teacher preparation programs aimed at low-income and Latinx teachers. Reducing the cost of becoming a teacher could be more feasible by creating additional avenues to enter the field and by increasing the number of qualified credentialing organizations. Funding to support students could be attained through collaboration between private and public sectors. This might include offering financial incentives for tuition, in-service professional development, and competitive salaries (Litow, 2008).

Emphasize the Importance of Leadership
As they create inclusive and welcoming learning environments, the significance of school and college/university leadership cannot be overstated. In addition to promoting contexts supportive of Latinx student achievement, on-site leadership can also promote the satisfaction of Latinx teachers/faculty and address workplace difficulties as they arise. For example, district/school/college leadership can provide teacher/faculty support, create on-site mentoring networks to counter feelings of isolation, and advocate for higher salaries. Furthermore, educational leaders have opportunities to: 1) affirm that "students of all backgrounds deserve teachers [and faculty] of all backgrounds" (Boser, 2011, p. 11); 2) highlight the value Latinx teachers/faculty and "their potential for improving the quality of education for Latinx…[students]" (Irizarry & Donaldson, 2012, p. 184); 3) include in their institutional mission that "the diversity of the teacher/faculty force …[is a] central component of any policy initiative intended to provide a high quality education to all students, not just some" (Villegas & Irvine, 2010, p. 188); and 4) hire teachers/faculty who understand the power of expectations to influence Latinx student success (Gershenson & Papageorge, 2017). Educational leaders can also work with other policy makers to create expanded networks to attract and retain Latinx teachers/faculty. Finally, they can work toward reducing teacher/faculty bias, diversifying the teaching/faculty workforce, and retaining current Latinx teachers/faculty. As stated previously, this is a circular process: the more Latinx teachers/faculty retained, the more Latinx teachers/faculty will be attracted to the profession and to the schools/colleges that successfully retain them.

Change Implicit Bias and Stereotyping
Research points to the need to recognize and challenge implicit bias and stereotyping along the entire educational pathway for Latinx students and teachers/faculty. Negative interactions from early schooling and in teacher workplaces create a continuous cycle of distancing Latinxs from the field of education. Implicit biases are described as subconscious stereotypes that guide one's expectations and interactions with others. Examples are provided by Kat Lazo referred to previously. Biases, implicit and explicit, can create unwelcoming and unfair learning environments for minoritized students and teachers/faculty. They can be combated in a number of ways. These might include: 1) workshops on unconscious bias and microaggressions inside and outside the classroom; 2) professional development for teachers/faculty and classified staff regarding equity and cultural sensitivity; 3) student and teacher/faculty empowerment via culturally relevant curriculum such as Chicano/a Studies and Ethnic Studies 7 ; 4) and created culturally relevant/welcoming environments that promote community, belonging, and positive climate.

Further Research Examining Latinx Teacher and Faculty Preparation
In addition to the recommendations from the literature and practice, one critical finding from this work is that more research articles focusing on the study of the Latinx teacher/faculty pathways and educational outcomes are needed. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research approaches should be used to capture parent, family, and community perspectives in addition to Latinx student and educator perspectives for a more complete understanding of the barriers and facilitators along the Latinx teacher/faculty pathway.
Studies can also shed light on the status of women faculty world-wide. For example, in a global study of women faculty using data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Wotipka et al. (2018) investigate historical patterns of the representation of women in faculty positions across 92 countries from 1970 to 2012, noting that 7 For example, in Los Angeles Unified, home to nearly 470,000 Latino students, ethnic studies is now a graduation requirement. All LAUSD students, Latino or otherwise, receive a high school diploma only after gaining a foundational understanding of the experiences of Latino and other people of color. Districts that do not yet have an ethnic studies curriculum can look towards the model curriculum that the state's Instructional Quality Commission is currently developing. The state can go the next step by supporting districts in adoption of this curriculum through training and incentives (https://west.edtrust.org/resource/the-majorityreport/, p.13).
"Despite the surge in women's enrollments in higher education over the last several decades, women continue to be unequally represented in faculty careers around the world" (p. 212). Their research examines "the critical question of what explains variations in the percentages of women faculty within countries… [and] posits that women's representation among faculty is influenced by a combination of global norms of justice and women's rights as well as national contextual factors" (p. 212). Wotipka et al. (2018) point to needed research from a global perspective. Their work also provides areas for further inquiry at local levels: Access alone also does not lead to equal experiences or status attainment (David, 2016). In addition to broader trends, future studies should examine more detailed trends of rank, salary, and field of study, among other crucial characteristics that encompass the full experience of faculty in higher education, such as race, ethnicity, and social class, among others (Goastellec et al., 2013). While women made substantial gains over the last four decades, intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender remain highly relevant in terms of women's experiences as faculty members (Gutiérrez [&] Muhs et al., 2012;Mabokela [&] Mawila, 2004) and as campus leaders (Turner, 2007). Understanding how women's presence in faculty positions may change the nature of the profession and higher education more generally could be useful for helping to open the doors for even more women. We suspect that women's increasing participation in higher education as students will remain a strong predictor of women's growing representation within faculty positions. At the same time, other critical factors -social, professionalorganizational, as well as institutional factors (Bain [&] Cummings, 2000) -must be addressed in order for substantial social change to occur for women within academia. Future research should include characteristics of higher education systems to determine their influence on the status of women in academia at different points along the pipeline. While the inroads made by women in faculty positions is nothing short of remarkable, it will take some time before equality is achieved (p. 229).

Conclusion
While interest and concern in the underrepresentation of women as faculty in academe exists on the global stage, according to recent reports, a local crises is predicted in the United States and in California if low educational achievements for minoritized racial and ethnic groups continue.
For example, in 2017, The Education Trust-West, based in Oakland, CA, released a report titled, "The Majority Report: Supporting the Educational Success of Latino Students in California." This publication sums up the educational challenges Latinos in California continue to face. Based upon discussions with practitioners and the review of literature presented, these conditions are likely common amongst Latinxs in other states across the country: Across the state, hundreds of thousands of Latino students are still denied the education they need to succeed in college, career, and beyond…Numerous hurdles stand in their way, including insufficient access to early childhood education, low expectations in school, teacher and staff biases, less access to rigorous coursework, and lack of engaging and welcoming school environments.
Students with additional needs, such as English learner, migrant, and undocumented students, face an additional set of obstacles (p. 9).
The report also indicates that "Our state cannot afford to fail Latino students. With an increased sense of urgency for the changes our students deserve, our educational system can prepare the future scientists, artists, economists, academics, and business and government leaders that will change the world" (p. 2). In 2018, the Campaign for College Opportunity report concludes that "exclusion in California's colleges and universities hurts our values, our students, and our economy." This report indicates that: California has been a magnet for dreamers, risk takers, and innovative leaders who make up the rich diversity of our state. Our success as the sixth largest economy in the world has been our pay off… Our state cannot produce the college educated workers we need to keep our economy strong without increasing the number of college graduates... especially Latinx… (p.

3)
Latinx students are the largest demographic in California's public colleges and universities and their enrollments will continue to grow as more Latinx students graduate from our state's high schools. The fact that only one in 10 of all faculty and leadership positions are held by Latinx is alarming...What structural barriers do we need to address to ensure greater, more equitable opportunities for our Latinx community to gain a foothold in our colleges and universities? (p. 14) Not only is the state of California at peril if the Latinx citizenry continues to be undereducated, but such inequalities are predicted to have detrimental consequences for the future of the entire country as underscored in a 2016 report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: One way of achieving the nation's growth objectives is to improve college access and completion rates-and of course the quality and relevance of education-of all student populations… Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the country-the number of Hispanic high school graduates is projected to increase by 50[%] by 2032-yet they have the lowest educational attainment levels. This implies a significant opportunity for increased college-going and completion in this population. (p. 40) This report concludes that "Progress is not guaranteed, and good things will happen only with sustained effort, but if we can sustain focus on the work, combining patience with urgency, we can, through undergraduate education, make great advances as individuals and as a nation" (p. 90).
The preparation of Latinx teachers and faculty are critical to address the wide educational gaps faced by Latinx students across the United States. As documented by the reports quoted above, in the literature highlighted here, and through discussions amongst educators, progress has been made, but many challenges remain to increase Latinx representation in the teaching profession and as faculty on our college campuses. Due to space and time constraints, the focus of this writing was intentionally specific. My hope is that this essay has shed some light on the status and critical issues concerning diversity and educational outcomes for Latinx women in the United States. While the case of Latinx women reflects the situation for many minoritzed communities, much more can be shared with regard to the educational outcomes for other underrepresented groups. Educators must provide leadership to remedy educational inequality and to pursue justice by removing systemic and policy barriers so that all students have an equally enriching educational experience.

About the Guest Editors Irina S. Okhremtchouk
San Francisco State University Email address: irinao@sfsu.edu Irina S. Okhremtchouk is an associate professor of educational administration in the Department of Equity, Leadership Studies, and Instructional Technologies at San Francisco State University's Graduate College of Education. She also coordinates SFSU's educational administration certification and educational administration MA programs. In her capacity as educational administration program coordinator, Okhremtchouk is charged with preparing well-rounded and well-informed social justice leaders and school administrators who are ready to build and maintain inclusive school communities, as well as work persistently to eliminate racism, inequalities, and injustices. Okhremtchouk's expertise is in the area of school organization, policy, and school finance. Specifically, her scholarly work stems from a deep interest in how to translate research into better-informed public policy yielding a long-lasting impact on educational leadership, policy, and administration. Irina received her Ph.D. in School Organization and Educational Policy from the U.C. Davis School of Education.

SPECIAL ISSUE Striving for Social Justice and Equity in Higher Education
education policy analysis archives Volume 29 Number 41 March 29, 2029ISSN 1068-2341 Readers are free to copy, display, distribute, and adapt this article, as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and Education Policy Analysis Archives, the changes are identified, and the same license applies to the derivative work. More details of this Creative Commons license are available at https://creativecommons.