Race is central to economic life, but race is not central to economic sociology. We argue that economic sociologists should treat racism as a constitutive, structuring force, analytically co-equal with capitalism, patriarchy and nationalism. Our article has three aims. First, we document how canonical and award-winning works of economic sociology do not discuss race and racism, and do not engage with the contemporary sociology of race. Second, we identify six key insights from the sociology of race and suggest how they could influence economic sociology: the emergence of race out of racism, an understanding of racism as structural, the role of whiteness, the intersections between racism and other systems of oppression, the ideology of colorblind racism and the fundamental connections between racism and capitalism. Third, we conclude by discussing recent research that bridges the two subfields and lays the groundwork for an understanding of ‘racialized markets’ and ‘racialized economies’.
A burgeoning literature at the intersection of the sociology of race and organizations explores the organization’s role in (re)producing racial inequalities. The present article builds from this growing literature in its analysis of the formation of National Public Radio (NPR), to better understand how organizational actors translate racialized practices into new organizations at their foundation, even when they seek greater racial inclusivity. I coin a new analytical concept, white institutional isomorphism, to analyze how organizations that embrace a mission of diversity may end up reproducing racially exclusionary practices. White institutional isomorphic pressures are racialized norms that shape the standards and practices adopted across organizations within a given field. Using organizational meeting minutes, external reports, oral histories, and founder memoirs, I show that early implementation of station membership criteria, hiring practices, and programming priorities, while considered race-neutral decisions by the founders that shared a white habitus, inhibited the inclusion of nonwhite voices into NPR’s workforce, station membership, and programming.
A burgeoning literature at the intersection of the sociology of race and organizations has explored the organization’s role in (re)producing racial inequalities. The present paper builds from this growing literature in its analysis of the formation of National Public Radio (NPR), to better understand how organizational actors translate racialized practices into new organizations at their foundation, even when they seek greater racial inclusivity. I coin a new analytical concept, white institutional isomorphism, to analyze how organizations that embrace a mission of diversity may end up reproducing racially exclusionary practices. White institutional isomorphic pressures are racialized norms that shape the standards and practices adopted across organizations within a given field. Using organizational meeting minutes, external reports, oral histories, and founder memoirs, I show that early implementation of station technological standards, hiring practices, and programming priorities, while considered race-neutral decisions by the founders that shared a white habitus, inhibited the inclusion of nonwhite voices into NPR’s workforce, station membership, and programming.
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