Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Daphne Halkias

Abstract

A literature gap exists on how Black employees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions find common ground in interracial collegial relationships to push back against social-professional exclusion, and scholars recommend that this gap be addressed in theoretical and empirical research. The purpose of this study was to explore how Black men with successful information technology (IT) careers push back against social-professional exclusion through their interracial collegial relationships. A single case study with an embedded units design addressed the literature gap, and qualitative data from seven semistructured interviews, reflective field notes, and archival data were collected and triangulated to answer the research question. This study was framed by Roberson et al.’s concept of Black men’s motivation to persist against social-professional exclusion and Fries-Britt’s concept of Black male success in STEM pathways. Thematic analysis of data from the interviews revealed 15 themes encased in the five coding categories: (a) entry and career development in the IT field, (b) racial identity and sense of belonging with peers, (c) social/professional exclusion challenges for Black men in the IT field, (d) Black men in IT do develop strong collegial relationships, and (e) succeeding as a Black man in the IT field. This study’s results indicate that successful Black men in the IT field persist in finding common ground in interracial collegial relationships and pushing back against social-professional exclusion. This study may drive positive social change by altering perceptions on the value of Black men as STEM professionals and provide a counternarrative to the faulty reasoning behind the poor representation of Black men in the IT industry.

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