Sadaf Sadiq- Monday Section 3- Week 1

Sadaf Sadiq

Monday Section 3

Week 1 Readings

In Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia, Caroline Valverde speaks upon the perils that Asian American women face in higher education. The paper covers Valverde’s own unfortunate ordeal that she faced while applying for tenure at a university. She faced harsh criticisms left and right from fellow tenure seeking scholars and faculty at the Asian American Studies department while working hard to secure rightful employment. Valverde entered the playing field, a political hierarchy that was masked as an institution of higher education. Her paper resembles a few key points we had discussed in lecture on Thursday. In lecture, we talked about the cases of Susie Guillory Phipps and Mary Christine Walkers. Both of these cases displayed the political undergoings of race and ethnicity that were at play. Both women, who were on opposite ends of a spectrum, ultimately had the same ending. They were delineated to their race. The courts upheld that their lineage of racial roots from ancestors long ago mattered more than the person they were right now. Valverde’s paper also remarks on how Asian American women, or any women of color for that matter, were seen as inferior. Even though they worked just as hard or even harder than a white, male counterpart they were overlooked for positions of tenure and opportunity. It all dwindled down to them being seen as outsiders. Women are treated unfairly due to their gender as is, without race taking a part. Many people underestimate women in the workplace, classifying them as being over-emotional and not as reliable as men, as can be seen in how Valverde addresses the matter of her maternity leave. However, women put in more work and effort than ever before just for others to recognize them and to “level the playing field”.   

What University denied Professor Valverde tenure, and how long did she end up staying and working with them?

References:

Valverde, C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, Volume 12, 367-419.

Paulus, Rusyanto. (2015 March 27). Mom Nursing Baby While Working. Retrieved from https://st2.depositphotos.com/1252160/7582/i/950/depositphotos_75825181-stock-photo-disabled-woman-with-baby-working.jpg