Recognizing and Mitigating Power Differentials Within the Committee

The purpose of this step is to ensure a committee culture wherein every member can raise concerns, disagree, and express opinions without being silenced or having to worry about repercussions. 

Systems of social exclusion and oppression are self-reinforcing. As should be more than clear by this point in the Step-By-Step Guide to Inclusive Faculty Hiring, structural inequity causes imbalances in representation. Often these imbalances become increasingly pronounced in higher tiers of authority within postsecondary institutions. It is therefore not uncommon in academic settings—on a hiring committee for example—for senior affiliates to be members of overrepresented social categories. And despite their best intentions, it is not uncommon for individuals who are further in their careers to express greater attachment to traditional systems of evaluation—systems that reinforce structural inequity. Committee members whose professional footing is less secure, such as tenure-track faculty and graduate students, may be reluctant to push back against affiliates who could wield coercive power over them. This can be especially problematic because newer scholars might be more versed in the most recent research on structural inequity and therefore particularly well equipped to contribute to an inclusive hiring process. 

To promote healthy and uninhibited self-expression on a hiring committee, the chair must carefully select members to ensure that all are dedicated to cultivating an environment of inclusivity, equitability, mutual trust, and respect. Representatives who are in positions of power must be able and willing to ensure they do not run roughshod over their more vulnerable colleagues. All committee members should weigh in on evaluation decisions. And no one should feel like they cannot speak. Committee members in roles of power must, however, understand their positionality in a broader context of institutional inequity, and they must work to ensure that their power does not reproduce systemic disparities in representation—both on the committee and in the hiring decision. 

Finally, it is the responsibility of the chair to ensure balanced dialogue and to take necessary action if power differentials appear to stifle committee deliberations.

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