Research, including our own work funded by the National Science Foundation, shows that faculty workloads often differ by race and gender in ways that particularly disadvantage women of color. Those workload imbalances matter for faculty diversity, inclusion and retention. Faculty members facing workload inequities report lower satisfaction, less engagement and increased burnout. Moreover, when the efforts of faculty are not credited in tenure and promotion criteria, it encourages those faculty members to leave, reducing retention.

For example, in a recent study, our research team found women of color were the least likely to say that the work important to them was valued in their department’s credit system. Often, this devalued work was aimed at supporting students of color or creating more equitable programs or universities. [...] Here, we offer four strategies, based on our research, for ensuring the meaningful engagement and voice, credit and recognition of the DEIJ work of women of color.