Race at work: Contingent identity theory and the role of organizational context

This research seeks to contribute to existing knowledge on race in work organizations by recognizing the workplace as an important, though often neglected, context in which racial identities are shaped and negotiated. The primary sample includes 244 employees in nine work organizations across two industries, computer software and music instruments. By employing in-depth field methods, the present study illuminates the ways in which race is put to work in the everyday working lives of men and women.; Findings highlight the significant diversity in the prominence and meanings constituted in racial identities among racial minorities and across work contexts. While typically under-explored in existing research, findings suggest that organizational context matters in the ways in which minorities experience race at work. Even seemingly race-neutral policies and practices can have a profound impact on racial minorities' experiences, shaping the propensity to infer race by drawing on racial narratives to provide credible explanations for their experiences or to perform race by deliberately enacting race as an alternative source of "voice" and dignity at work.; Present findings provide the foundations for building a new conceptual framework, Contingent Identity Theory (CIT). By recognizing race as a dynamic process, the proposed framework would shift existing research's focus on the presence of race to the process of race, by which the meanings and salience of race emerge from and are negotiated in social interactions. Furthermore, by conceptualizing race as a category of practice, CIT highlights the strategic ways minorities are rendered active participants in their own "racialization" as they purposefully navigate their work environment.; Present findings call for an alternative to policies and practices that primarily focus on the numerical representation of racial minorities or emphasize differences among members of racial identity groups. Instead, this thesis identifies that policies and practices not typically perceived as race-specific, such as transparent evaluation and promotion processes and participatory management practices, can have a considerable impact on the ways in which race is manifested in work organizations.