Call for Manuscripts

Special Issue of the Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education

Resisting Erasure: The Impact of Anti-DEI Legislation on Womyn in Higher Education

Guest Editors: Dr. LaShawnda N. Fields, Dr. Alexia Angton, Dr. Betty Wilson, Dr. Valandra

Overview

Across the United States, a growing wave of state and federal legislation seeks to restrict, defund, or ban Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education. While these laws are often justified as efforts to preserve “neutrality” or “fairness,” their real-world consequences are deeply inequitable—undermining the programs, resources, and protections that sustain historically marginalized communities (Pedota, 2025).

For womyn—especially those at the intersections of race, sexuality, ability, and class—these policy shifts have intensified precarity in their academic and professional lives (Lin et al, 2022). From dismantled cultural centers to suppressed curricula, the rollback of DEI has far-reaching implications for teaching, scholarship, and community-building (Kamalumpundi et al., 2024). This special issue seeks to illuminate the structural, political, and emotional terrain that womyn navigate amid anti-DEI mandates while amplifying acts of resistance, resilience, and transformation (Sun & Turner, 2024).

Purpose and Scope

This special issue invites submissions that document, analyze, and theorize the impact of anti-DEI legislation on historically marginalized womyn in higher education. We welcome work that not only exposes the harms and inequities of this political moment but also highlights how womyn resist erasure through advocacy, solidarity, and self-preservation. We welcome submissions from faculty, practitioners, students, community organizers, and other womyn who have been impacted by anti-DEI legislation in higher education. 

Suggested Topics

Topics to explore include, but are not limited to:

• Policy Analysis: Effects of state or institutional anti-DEI measures on womyn’s representation, retention, and advancement.

• Faculty Labor and Academic Freedom: Experiences of womyn faculty who face surveillance, silencing, or penalization for equity-oriented teaching and research.

• Student Experiences: Narratives of womyn students navigating restricted resource centers, cultural programs, and affinity spaces.

• Intersectional Impacts: Analyses of how gender, race, sexuality, ability, and class intersect under anti-DEI laws.

• Resistance and Resilience: Case studies of womyn-led organizing, advocacy, and mutual-aid efforts that subvert restrictive policies. Practices of self-care and wellness as forms of resistance. 

• Practice: What does all of this mean for what we do as professionals in post-secondary education?

• Institutional Response: Comparative studies across states and institutions regarding policy enforcement and institutional adaptation.

• Global Perspectives: Comparative or transnational analyses of higher education contexts experiencing similar anti-equity backlashes.

Submission Guidelines

Each submission must include the following:

• Positionality: Authors should center their positionality within the submission. We recommend either a positionality statement or its systematic integration throughout the article as you critically examine issues related to power, gender, race, and other social identities. 

• Implications: Authors should consider how their work addresses theory and/or practice. Explicitly state what your work means and for whom.

Submission Details

Manuscripts must be original, unpublished work not under consideration elsewhere. Please include a cover letter clearly indicating why the submission should be considered for the special issue. All submissions will undergo double-anonymous peer review. The review process will involve multiple rounds, followed by a pre-production phase before publication.

• Manuscript Submission Deadline: October 6, 2026
• Manuscripts out for Peer Review: November - March 2027
• Selection of Manuscripts: April 2027
• Finalize all revisions of Manuscripts: August, 2027
• Publication Date: 2028

All voices and perspectives that wish to contribute must be acknowledged. However, we recognize that the sociopolitical context and state-specific legislation may hinder some from submitting. As an editorial team, we would like to support those who may need advice on how to contribute safely. If you would like strategies for protecting yourself and/or your collaborators, or are willing to contribute in other ways, such as serving as a reviewer, we encourage you to contact us. 

Manuscripts should be a maximum of 25 double-spaced pages, and submitted by June 15, 2025.  Please use APA style and 12-point Times New Roman font.  (Page length includes tables, figures, images, and references.) All manuscripts must be submitted online through https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/naspa_njawhe 

Please include a cover letter clearly indicating why the submission should be considered for the special issue. For more information, questions, or to discuss manuscript fit, please contact the Guest Editors at: Dr. LaShawnda N. Fields ([email protected]) or Dr. Alexia Angton ([email protected]) or Dr. Valandra ([email protected]) or Dr. Betty Wilson ([email protected]).

References

1. Kamalumpundi, K., Dykema-Engblade, A., Lannutti, P. J., & Supiano, K. P. (2024). Diversity, equity, and inclusion in a polarized world. *Frontiers in Psychology, 15*, 1364230. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1364230

2. Lin, S. L., Flores, G., & Clark, M. (2022). Creating an inclusive community for BIPOC faculty: Women’s experiences and intersectional advocacy in academia. *Frontiers in Psychology, 13*, 961826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.961826

3. Pedota, J. (2025). “We’re on our own out here”: Faculty member responses to institutional and political pressure. *The Journal of Higher Education, 96*(4), 501–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2025.2461986

4. Sun, H., & Turner, T. (2024). *Vise gripping academic freedom: Controlling the learning movement*. *Journal of College and University Law, 49*(1), 1–40. https://www.nacua.org/docs/default-source/jcul-articles/volume49/sun-turner-to-nacua.pdf