Though white women continue to be hindered by gender inequity in academic libraries, whiteness still enables them to access and wield hegemonic privilege and power. Such access, paired with the belief that professional success is the result of individual hard work and merit, lends itself to white feminist neoliberal thinking. As Deborah Hollis noted  nearly two decades ago, “the ‘good old boys’ are turning into the ‘good old girls,’” and this continued concentration of whiteness at the top solidifies an institutional structure predicated on marginalizing, assimilating, and/or silencing the “other.” White feminist leaders, for whom a commitment to social justice is an integral component of their cultivated progressive identity, use their authority to reinforce a professional culture that avoids or elides explicit discussions of race and racism.

— Topographies of Whiteness by Gina Schlesselman-Tarango (Series on Critical Race Studies and Multiculturalism in LIS, #2)