Experiencing privilege at ethnic, gender and senior intersections

Purpose: In management studies, assumptions surround the fixed, categorical and binary nature of male, ethnic and other privileges. Compared to white, middle-class men, ‘Others’ are typically assumed not to experience privilege. We counter this assumption by applying intersectionality to examine privilege’s juxtaposition with disadvantage. We offer an elaborated conceptualisation of organisational privilege and insight into the agency employed by individuals traditionally perceived as non-privileged. Approach: Using diaries and interviews, we analyse twenty micro-episodes from four senior minority ethnic women and men’s accounts of intersecting ethnic, gender and senior identities. We identify how privilege plays out at the juxtaposition of (male gender and hierarchical) advantage with (female gender and ethnic) disadvantage. Findings: The fluidity of privilege is revealed through contextual, contested and conferred dimensions. Additionally, privilege is experienced in everyday micro-level encounters and we illustrate how 'sometimes privileged' individuals manage their identities at intersections. Research Limitations: This in-depth analysis draws on a small sample of unique British minority ethnic individuals to illustrate dimensions of privilege. Practical and social implications: It is often challenging to discuss privilege. However, our focus on atypical wielders of power challenges binary assumptions of privilege. This can provide a common platform for dominant and non-dominant group members to share how societal and organisational privileges differentially impact groups. This inclusive approach could reduce dominant group members’ psychological and emotional resistance to social justice. Originality: Through bridging privilege and intersectionality perspectives, we offer a complex and nuanced perspective that contrasts against prevalent conceptions of privilege as invisible and uncontested

Black and White Women's Leadership

This paper contributes to literature on ethnic identity and experiences in the workplace leadership and identity by examining how race, gender and class may confer disadvantage or bestow privilege in accessing leadership positions and enacting the role of leader. We interviewed 130 white and BME women leaders in public and private sector organisations in the UK to gather their reflections on how they defined leadership, how their identities as leaders had developed and their experiences of enacting leadership. Findings showed that the BME women experienced notably more challenges and difficulties in their role as leaders, and that they saw their ethnicity as having a clear bearing on their identities, their perception of leadership, and their experience as leaders, Among the white women, barriers were faced in respect of social class and gender, and struggle was evident in understanding the issues BME leaders face in organisations

Reciprocity as a way forward for diversity management and corporate social responsiblity

In this paper, we compare the areas of Diversity Management (DM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We propose that, while both are now established fields of practice with similar philosophical foundations, there is little communication and knowledge sharing between the two fields in terms of academic research