UCLA

This study investigated the navigational and strategic skills of Latina executives and how they say they acquired those skills to obtain their positions at the University of California (UC) institutions. While studies on Latinos/as in higher education describe their lack of representation, these studies do not specifically focus on Latina women in senior positions. This study aimed to respond to the absence of research in this area. The nine participants were comprised with a job title of Associate or Assistant Vice Chancellor. My research design consisted of in-depth 1-1 interviews which were semi- structured and utilized narrative inquiry that was necessary for the participants to narrate their experience. The analytic framework was guided by Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) and the Leadership Labyrinth, all contributing to framing the experiences of these Latina women as they navigated higher education institutions. Findings indicated that: (1) the strategic decisions that contributed to Latina executives’ career are ones that they themselves sought. Latina executive women considered themselves to be leaders, making the journey their own, and expanding their professional portfolio in advancing to senior positions. Such a picture emerging from their stories indicates that opportunities to become a leader are not given. (2) Latina executives feel like they just represent an “image” check mark to the university. These Latina executives felt that they were token hires and faced barriers, such as being pigeon- holed into diversity work, in their workplace because of their culture. (3) Hire education institutions need to be mindful of what message they are sending to candidates. My study found that the entire hiring process in higher education institutions are set up in a way that serves as a disadvantage to Latinas and people of color from the beginning such as in the access of recruitment material to the final interview. Higher education institutions need to do a better job at selecting who sits on their search committees, advertise to a diverse population and reevaluate their strict position requirements that might instantly disqualify a diverse candidate with a nontraditional path. Implications for practice are discussed, including suggestions for aspiring Latina executives, current Latina executives, higher education institutions and their leadership teams.