RUME 26
2024
Omaha, Nebraska
White Male Allies in STEM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Service
Page: 1223
I describe findings from a hermeneutic phenomenological study of white male engagement in DEI faculty service. I frame the phenomenon of interest using the DEI Institutional Activism Framework, and questions of structure and agency through Strong Structuration Theory. Two major findings are reported here. First, that DEI service is disincentivized by contradictory institutional structures that devalue engagement. Second, that individual faculty agentically engage in DEI service because of relational connections to students, but also to women they know personally (daughters, wives, friends, colleagues). These preliminary findings are based on semi-structured interviews with four STEM faculty.