Abstract

Black and Hispanic women have historically encountered hegemonic structures, implicit biases, and internalized racism associated with deficit mindsets, which have served as barriers contributing to their underrepresentation in U.S. science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computing (STEM+C) education (Chakraverty, 2022; Jaumont-Pascual et al., 2021). With the apparent marginalization of Black and Hispanic women in the computing workforce, this pilot study focused on the experiences of this population as they persisted in their undergraduate education at a Hispanic-serving institution in Texas. This mixed-methods study employed the ACCYESS STEM+C Majors (ASCM) survey instrument and the ASCM interview protocol to illuminate the modified community cultural wealth (CCW) dimensions and the relevant lived experiences that have influenced undergraduate Black and Hispanic women’s enrollment and persistence in K–16 computing education. In this study, we utilize the CCW framework (Yosso, 2005) as a theoretical lens to interpret how Black and Hispanic women promote their strengths to resist forms of systemic and institutionalized racism in computing education, from an anti-deficit approach. Our findings highlight the ways in which CCW factors influenced Black and Hispanic women’s choice to pursue and persist in undergraduate computing education in response to our collective need to better support this population in their attainment and representation in STEM+C disciplines. 

Keywords: community cultural wealth, Hispanic-serving institution, persistence in STEM+C, undergraduate computing majors, women of color

How to Cite:

Moreno, T., Carrera, L. F., Kukde, R. D., & Ashford-Hanserd, S. (2026). Influence of community cultural wealth on undergraduate women of color in computing. Journal of the National Organization for Student Success, 3(2), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.61617/jnoss.102