Microaggressions in the Accounting Academy: The Black Experience

Black Americans are underrepresented members of the US accounting academy (Brown-Liburd and Joe 2020). By interviewing Black accounting faculty about their experiences during their doctoral education and institutional hiring and promotion processes, we discover stories of degradation, stereotyping, and exclusion (i.e., microaggressions) that participants report negatively impact their views of the academic accounting profession and increase their turnover intentions. Microaggressions committed against Black accounting faculty may contribute to underrepresentation that can be addressed through enlightenment, education, and interaction. Our findings are important as they fill gaps in related extant literature concerning the existence and impacts of microaggressions, and they may help improve diversity and equity in the accounting academy.