Degrees of Difference : University of Illinois Press : 9780252043185 : 0252043189 : 11 May 2020 : University commitments to diversity and inclusivity have yet to translate into support for women of color graduate students. Sexism, classism, homophobia, racial microaggressions, alienation, disillusionment, a lack of institutional and departmental support, limited help from family and partners, imposter syndrome, narrow reading lists&;all remain commonplace. Indifference to the struggles of women of color in graduate school and widespread dismissal of their work further poisons an atmosphere that suffocates not only ambition but a person's quality of life. In Degrees of Difference, women of color from diverse backgrounds give frank, unapologetic accounts of their battles&;both internal and external&;to navigate grad school and fulfill their ambitions. At the same time, the authors offer strategies for surviving the grind via stories of their own hard-won successes with self-care, buildin