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1 – 10 of 51Sucharita Maji and Devu Rajeev
The current study aimed to (1) explore the prevalence and processes associated with microaggression, along with (2) the consequences of such instances on the queer employees’ life.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study aimed to (1) explore the prevalence and processes associated with microaggression, along with (2) the consequences of such instances on the queer employees’ life.
Design/methodology/approach
For this purpose, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted on 29 LGBTQIA + persons (21–42 years). The qualitative data were analysed through the thematic analysis method (a hybrid of theoretical and inductive thematic analysis). Nadal and colleagues’ (2010) taxonomy on sexual orientation and transgender microaggression was used as a theoretical lens for detecting the acts of microaggression.
Findings
The result revealed eight themes: i.e. (1) overt discrimination (bullying and sexual harassment); (2) workplace discrimination; (3) environmental microaggressions; (4) interpersonal microaggressions; (5) mental health effects; (6) disclosure dilemma; (7) consequences on job-related functioning; and (8) policy changes. Microaggression was more common as compared to overt forms of aggression such as bullying. The study detected a serious lag in the implementation of queer-friendly policies in Indian organizations. Experiences of overt discrimination and microaggressions hinder the work performance and the psychological well-being of queer employees.
Originality/value
LGBTQIA + microaggression is not explored in the Indian workplace context.
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This article adds to the existing literature by identifying persistent sociocultural norms that influence organizational culture as facilitators of gendered microaggressions…
Abstract
Purpose
This article adds to the existing literature by identifying persistent sociocultural norms that influence organizational culture as facilitators of gendered microaggressions experienced by women in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from 25 women employees in the Indian banking and finance sector following an unstructured interview. Grounded theory was utilized to establish that organizational culture, which in turn is reinforced by gender microaggressions, contributes to its prevalence.
Findings
Gender microaggressions manifest in the form of Alienation, Opportunity Denial, Invisible Restrictions and Sexual Innuendos. The relationship between organizational culture and gender microaggressions is cyclical, reinforcing and strengthening each other.
Originality/value
This is the first study on gender microaggressions to be conducted in the banking and finance sector.
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Psychotherapy and clinical supervision outcomes are influenced by client and supervisee factors, one of which is cultural identity. Those with diverse racial and ethnic…
Abstract
Purpose
Psychotherapy and clinical supervision outcomes are influenced by client and supervisee factors, one of which is cultural identity. Those with diverse racial and ethnic minoritised identities often experience disparities in therapy outcomes. Therapists and supervisors need to be responsive to the identity of those they support. The multicultural orientation (MCO) framework is an emerging concept in psychotherapy and clinical supervision that may offer these practitioners a framework to be responsive.
Design/methodology/approach
A preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews was conducted. Six databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Academic Search Complete, Web of Science and PsychInfo, were searched for peer-reviewed literature published in English between the years 2000 and 2023.
Findings
A total of 1,553 sources were identified, of which (n = 42) are included in this review. Findings suggest that MCO is still in its infancy as applied to therapy and clinical supervision. Most of the research has been conducted in America, using quantitative methodologies with white western populations. Cultural humility is the most studied MCO pillar, and variables such as reductions in psychological stress, the working alliance and microaggressions are reported on as outcomes. MCO applied to the group therapy process is an emerging finding of interest. However, more research is needed, especially experiential designs across different and diverse populations and contexts.
Originality/value
MCO is an emerging therapy and clinical supervision process that has the potential to improve the outcomes for therapy clients and supervisees. Further research is needed to replicate current studies, and further research with diverse populations, countries and contexts should be undertaken as a priority.
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Angélica S. Gutiérrez and Jean Lee Cole
Given the lack of research on the lived experiences of racially minoritized women in academia, this paper provides primary accounts of their experience with impostorization…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the lack of research on the lived experiences of racially minoritized women in academia, this paper provides primary accounts of their experience with impostorization. Impostorization refers to the policies, practices and seemingly innocuous interactions that make or intend to make individuals (i.e. women of color) question their intelligence, competence and sense of belonging.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore experiences with impostorization and identify effective coping strategies to counter the debilitating effects of impostorization, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with women of color PhD students and faculty at universities throughout the USA and across disciplines.
Findings
While impostor syndrome, which refers to feelings of inadequacy that individuals experience and a fear that they will be discovered as fraud, has garnered much attention, the present accounts suggest that the more vexing issue in academia is impostorization, not impostor syndrome. Forms of impostorization include microaggressions, grateful guest syndrome, invisibility and inclusion taxation.
Originality/value
The interviews reveal the implicit and explicit ways in which academia impostorizes racially minoritized women scholars and the coping strategies that they use to navigate and survive within academia. The accounts demonstrate the pernicious effects of labeling feelings of inadequacy and unbelonging as impostor syndrome rather than recognizing that the problem is impostorization. This is a call to change the narrative and go from a fix-the-individual to a fix-the-institution approach.
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Alastair Pipkin and Luz Helena Rodriguez Forero
The following study aimed to better understand rural dwelling LGBTQ+ adults’ experiences of the challenges and opportunities facing their working lives in England.
Abstract
Purpose
The following study aimed to better understand rural dwelling LGBTQ+ adults’ experiences of the challenges and opportunities facing their working lives in England.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, focus group design was utilized, using online recruitment and an online, one-off focus group. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Three themes were identified: stressors facing LGBTQ+ people in the workplace; opportunities in employment; and ideas to improve the workplace for LGBTQ+ people. Participants spoke to the ways in which both rural living and the pandemic had impacted their working lives, including elevated fears of being discriminated against; experiencing microaggressions in the workplace which they felt were partly elevated by a lack of visibility and affirmative policies; and a sense that specific workplaces inhabited by LGBTQ+ people had been decimated by the pandemic. Conversely, participants spoke of opportunities for affirmation of their gender and/or sexual orientation identities, feeling a sense of pride and connection with their communities through work.
Originality/value
This is the first study to the authors’ knowledge that specifically explores rural dwelling LGBTQ+ adults’ experiences of the workplace post-pandemic. It builds on previous empirical research by highlighting qualitative experiences of challenges and opportunity, which can inform organizations and policymakers’ efforts to promote inclusivity.
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Vanessa Irvin, Kafi D. Kumasi and Kehinde Akinola
There is little to no empirical research on the phenomenon of ways in which the racism of whiteness transpires within the faculties and classrooms of US-based ALA-accredited…
Abstract
Purpose
There is little to no empirical research on the phenomenon of ways in which the racism of whiteness transpires within the faculties and classrooms of US-based ALA-accredited library and information science (LIS) education programs. We do have scholars publishing meaningful work exploring diversity-equity-inclusion topics and initiatives to evolve the LIS discourse on these issues (Honma, 2005; Chancellor, 2019; De LaRosa et al., 2021; Gibson, 2019; Mehra et al., 2023; Colón-Aguirre et al., 2022; Hands, 2022). This research substantiates the conceptual research that exists by empirically exposing the ways in which the racism of whiteness functions at the interpersonal level of work culture in LIS programs (i.e. the academy) in the US.
Design/methodology/approach
Adapting Baima and Sude’s (2020) modified Delphi Method, a focus group of 13 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) library and information science faculty members in the United States were recruited to participate in a one-time 60-min virtual Zoom session. Participants were engaged in three iterative rounds of reflective inquiry to reach a consensus of experience. The study design was embedded with critical race theory-based (CRT) ethnographic methods such as testimony (counterstorytelling), collective affirmation (shared narratives), and silence.
Findings
BIPOC LIS faculty (tenure-track and tenured) have similar ideas about whiteness and how it is operationalized as micro- and macro-aggressions in the LIS academic workplace, most significantly inside the classroom. The experience of whiteness was prevalent among all study participants in two areas: workplace meetings with faculty colleagues and classroom sessions (face-to-face and online) with students.
Originality/value
The findings offer empirical evidence to support the prolific conceptual literature in LIS discourse concerning ways in which critical race theory (CRT) interrogates LIS’s socio-professional injustices and inequities (e.g. Gibson et al., 2018; Stauffer, 2020; Leung and Lopez-McKnight, 2021; Jennings and Kinzer, 2022; Snow and Dunbar, 2022). There remains a dearth of empirical research that reports how whiteness is reproduced in the practices, knowledge, and resources that make up the ethos of the LIS faculty meeting and classroom. Documenting the testimonies of BIPOC LIS faculty solidifies the existence of whiteness as a toxic reality in the LIS academy.
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Cesar Teló, Pavel Trofimovich, Mary Grantham O'Brien, Thao-Nguyen Nina Le and Anamaria Bodea
High-stakes decision-makers, including human resource (HR) professionals, often exhibit accent biases against second language speakers in professional evaluations. We extend this…
Abstract
Purpose
High-stakes decision-makers, including human resource (HR) professionals, often exhibit accent biases against second language speakers in professional evaluations. We extend this work by investigating how HR students evaluate simulated job interview performances in English by first and second language speakers of English.
Design/methodology/approach
Eighty HR students from Calgary and Montreal evaluated the employability of first language (L1) Arabic, English, and Tagalog candidates applying for two positions (nurse, teacher) at four points in the interview (after reading the applicant’s resume, hearing their self-introduction, and listening to each of two responses to interview questions). Candidates’ responses additionally varied in the extent to which they meaningfully answered the interview questions.
Findings
Students from both cities provided similar evaluations, employability ratings were similar for both advertised positions, and high-quality responses elicited consistently high ratings while evaluations for low-quality responses declined over time. All speakers were evaluated similarly based on their resumes and self-introductions, regardless of their language background. However, evaluations diverged for interview responses, where L1 Arabic and Tagalog speakers were considered more employable than L1 English speakers. Importantly, students’ preference for L1 Arabic and Tagalog candidates over L1 English candidates was magnified when those candidates provided low-quality interview responses.
Originality/value
Results suggest that even in the absence of dedicated equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training focusing on language and accent bias, HR students may be aware of second language speakers’ potential disadvantages in the workplace, rewarding them in the current evaluations. Findings also highlight the potential influence of contextual factors on HR students’ decision-making.
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Kathomi Gatwiri and Hyacinth Udah
This paper aims to highlight how Black African academics who live and work under coloniality are systematically seen as “out of place” and how this positioning compounds their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight how Black African academics who live and work under coloniality are systematically seen as “out of place” and how this positioning compounds their experiences of interpersonal and systemic marginalisation within predominantly white universities.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper that theorises the experiences of two Black African academics in Australian higher education. It takes a form of autoethnography, to demonstrate the intersectional barriers and setbacks within white academia that interact with gender, class and migranthood, potentially undermining their academic progression and/or professional well-being.
Findings
Black African academics in white-majority workplaces repeatedly report experiences of microaggressions, hyper-surveillance and epistemic Othering. This is characterised by research alienation, funding gaps and being passed over for promotion leading to feelings of exclusion and fractured belonging within academia.
Originality/value
The paper argues that while the Coloniality of Power within institutions of higher learning continues to racialise Black African academics as Other, the Coloniality of Knowledge marginalises their intellectual, theoretical and experiential perspectives and contributions. The power of Coloniality and white supremacy are implicated in the epistemic impositions, erasures and negations of the ontological legitimacy and contributions of Black academics in higher education institutions.
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The purpose of this study is to analyse the role of line management in promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Transformational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse the role of line management in promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Transformational leadership (TL) promotes DEI, and autocratic leadership curbs it.
Design/methodology/approach
The research approach is deductive from existing literature followed by auto ethnographic case study.
Findings
The finding of this study is how the autocracy of a line manager can kill the enthusiasm of a team member. Cascuta theory, which has been introduced as a parasitic form of management in paper, will come into existence when a less qualified and closed mindset is supervising a highly qualified and performing team.
Research limitations/implications
The research limitations included inadequate autoethnographic case studies on similar circumstances. Also, the literature is divisive over the topic of DEI. On paper, policies are very strong; however, the implementation is not so good in many academic departments at many universities. Here, the whole HEIs is not to blame. Rather, the line manager has a bigger role in acknowledging or rejecting DEI. This research has many implications for studying the Cascuta phenomenon amongst DEI students, DEI staff.
Practical implications
The DEI colleagues in some academic departments of many universities in the UK are facing affinity biases. This study could be used to identify and remove the roadblocks in acknowledging the role of DEI in the UK HEIs. These remedies, though, might only be cosmetic. Persons who encourage affinity biases may also be the ones carrying out DEI programmes (Sodhi, 2024). Second, instead of taking concrete action to solve urgent social issues in the workplace, institutions may view DEI activities as regulatory mandates.
Social implications
Regional committees could be a good alternative to explore the success of implementing DEI on a wider scale. The members could be from HEIs, who are renowned for their DEI policy implementation. Their implementation process, roadblocks, and wider benefits could be studied on a wider scale. The DEI people should be able to contribute to society with ownership. If they are contributing to the economy, education, or health care, they are an asset and not a burden on society. If HEI is not recognising DEI now, they may find their way out to a more acceptable place.
Originality/value
This is a novel study to explore the role of line leadership in promoting DEI in HEI using the deductive method, supported with an autoethnographic case study.
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Ayesha Sengupta, Kayla Follmer and Debra Louis
This paper investigates the meaning of spirituality and empowerment from the perspective of women of color (WOC) in Fortune 500 companies how it impacts their leadership.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the meaning of spirituality and empowerment from the perspective of women of color (WOC) in Fortune 500 companies how it impacts their leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
Detailed data were collected through in depth semi-structured interviews documenting their experience as lived in the context of their daily work environments. Twelve WOC in leadership positions were interviewed, and transcripts analyzed using thematic analysis. Their narratives provide insight into the experiences of discrimination and bias and the stress and disenfranchisement that result from these experiences.
Findings
Analysis shows that for these women, spirituality was more than a philosophical orientation but comprised a core facet of their identity, empowering them to cope with adversity and uplift others through a leadership style defined by compassion, trust, strong interpersonal relationships and purpose.
Practical implications
Implications for creating more compassionate and inclusive environments that draw on principles of empowerment and spiritual leadership are provided.
Originality/value
This study contributes uniquely to the literature by exploring the perspectives of understudied women leaders who identify as African American, South-Asian and Latina on spirituality and empowerment and their impact on their leadership.
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