| Abstrakt: |
Diversity is a contested notion: it can be framed "uncritically," as all differences that benefit privileged groups, or "critically," as categorical inequalities that must be addressed to advance equity. While uncritical diversity is broadly legitimated, critical diversity is often socially suppressed, particularly in racialized and gendered workplaces. Prior research elucidates how organizational actors advance uncritical (e.g. colorblind) diversity yet pays little attention to how everyday employees voice critical diversity in white-male-dominated work contexts that politicize matters of inequality. I address this concern via analysis of an extreme case: a large, U.S.-based technology company. Drawing on in-depth interviews with employees, I demonstrate that individuals strategically negotiate critical and uncritical meanings of diversity in conversation by conforming critical diversity, which involves (1) defining diversity broadly yet centering categories of inequality, (2) offering critical and uncritical justifications of diversity, and (3) couching critical justifications in individualistic language. These practices uphold status-quo-reproducing diversity narratives while also generating more critical arguments than expected based on prior research. Results suggest the importance of studying how the interactional spaces of organizations and workplaces constrain and enable individuals' discussions of diversity. If organizations redefined cultural norms governing diversity-related conversations, they might see greater results from formal diversity initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
