A qualitative single-case-study approach is used in this study to examine the lived experiences of an African American woman senior-level administrator in a predominantly White research university. The everyday, lived experience of the participant challenges the ideology that education and hard work are combinations that equal success. The findings in the study indicate that despite achieving advanced levels of education and holding high-ranking positions within academia, many African American women in administrative positions encounter social inequity emerging from intersectionality. The dichotomous tension between achievement ideologies, as “the great equalizer,” and the organizational structure as a form of resistance to social equity are continuous threads throughout this article.
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