Worthy of More: Systemic Failures Women of Color Face in Higher Education

Dr. Nicole PulliamIn my first year as a faculty member, I was the ‘shiny new object.’ As a woman of color, a first-generation college graduate, and someone raised in a limited-income home, I was celebrated for bringing fresh perspectives and ideas. Colleagues praised my energy, students gravitated to my classes, and I was recruited for every diversity committee imaginable. At first, it felt affirming—proof that I belonged in academia. But over time, the shine dulled. The celebration came with crushing expectations, compounded by a lack of structural support.

Why are women of color in higher education celebrated for their excellence yet set up to fail by the very systems that claim to value them? This isn’t a personal failure; it’s a systemic issue—and higher education is a microcosm of broader workplace inequities.

The Burden of Excellence
In academia, excellence isn’t just expected of women of color—it’s demanded. While many of our white male colleagues are allowed to coast by with mediocrity, we are burdened with proving ourselves repeatedly. Excellence, for us, is not an option; it’s a baseline requirement to survive.
This double standard manifests in insidious ways:
• Overrepresentation in Service Work: We are disproportionately asked to lead diversity initiatives, serve on equity committees, and mentor students from historically excluded or systemically marginalized backgrounds.
• Invisible Labor: Our emotional and intellectual contributions to the institution often go unrecognized and uncompensated.
• Unrealistic Expectations: While juggling teaching, publishing, and service, we also face biases in how our work is evaluated, making it harder to advance in rank and recognition.

Beyond these demands, academia sets another trap: our worth is measured by metrics that offer little tangible reward. We are judged by the number of publications we produce, the prestige of the journals in which we publish, and how many downloads or citations our work receives. Yet, we are not compensated for our intellectual property. Once we achieve tenure or are promoted, the salary increases are dismal, leaving little incentive or reward for the immense labor required to reach these milestones.

This begs the question: is the recognition of women of color in academia more about optics than actual support?

Impostor Syndrome or Systemic Failure?
Rashma Saujani, in her 2023 commencement speech, likened societal pressures on women to the 1890s concept of ‘bicycle face’—a fabricated ailment used to deter women from gaining independence. Similarly, impostor syndrome acts as a modern tool of control, making women, especially women of color, question their worth in exclusionary systems. Jodi-Ann Burey and Ruchika Tulshyan have reframed impostor syndrome as a systemic problem, not an individual flaw, a sentiment echoed by Jenn M. Jackson in “It’s Not Impostor Syndrome When You’re Black and a Woman.”

In 2020, I spoke with Dr. Pauline Clance, the psychologist who coined the term “impostor phenomenon.” I reached out because I was leading a study on first-generation Black and Latinx students and the mental health impacts of the impostor phenomenon. I needed permission to use her impostor phenomenon scale to conduct the study.

During our conversation, Dr. Clance expressed gratitude that my research focused on people of color, acknowledging her original study only included white women. She then made a powerful request: “Please don’t call it a syndrome.” The original term avoids pathologizing what is a response to structural inequities.

We are no longer in the dark about why these feelings of inadequacy occur. They are predictable outcomes of systems that exclude and undervalue systemically marginalized people. The real question is not why these feelings exist but what institutions will do to address the systemic conditions that create them.

Balancing Gratitude with the Demand for Change
I want to pause and say this: I have had a beautiful career as a professor. In many ways, my institution has been good to me. I have deeply enjoyed my students, the camaraderie of my colleagues, and the privileges afforded to faculty. I’ve taken on administrative roles by choice—serving as a program director, department chair, and leader of a large-scale initiative. These roles brought me fulfillment, but they also contributed to my burnout.

I recognize that my career and salary surpassed anything my family could have imagined for me as someone raised in a limited-income home. For a long time, I felt I should be grateful. I had a career that others only dream of. Shouldn’t that be enough?

But a dear friend constantly reminds me: I am the prize. Institutions should also be grateful for me and the countless women of color who bring excellence, innovation, and care to the academy. Gratitude doesn’t mean complacency. While I appreciate my opportunities, that doesn’t erase the systemic issues that demand change.

Beyond Academia: The Universal Pattern
What happens in academia is not unique. As a coach, trainer, and speaker, I’ve heard this story repeated across industries. Whether in corporate boardrooms, healthcare systems, or non-profits, the narrative is alarmingly consistent: brilliance is undervalued, invisible labor is exploited, and systemic barriers are overlooked.
Women of color are called upon to be the ‘fixers’ of broken systems, often leading diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts without the resources or institutional commitment to make lasting change. They are tasked with mentoring others while their own professional needs go unmet. And like in higher education, they are held to higher standards and given fewer opportunities to lead.

This broader pattern underscores how deeply embedded systemic inequities are across fields. The parallels are striking—and they demand that institutions, regardless of industry, take action to dismantle the barriers women of color face daily.

A Call to Action: The Debt Institutions Owe
Like all industries, higher education must confront systemic inequities intentionally and urgently. Institutions owe women of color recognition for their labor, equitable evaluation, compensation for intellectual property, leadership opportunities, and meaningful support for wellness. Anything less is unacceptable.
The brilliance of women of color does not belong to institutions—it belongs to us. It’s time for systems to stop punishing excellence (usually with more work) and start rewarding it.

Dr. Nicole Pulliam is an associate professor of Educational Counseling & Leadership at Monmouth University.