Increases in salience of ethnic identity at work: The roles of ethnic assignation and ethnic identification

Abstract

To better understand how ethnicity is actually experienced within organisations, we examined reported increases in ethnic identity salience at work and responses to such increases. Thirty British black Caribbean graduate employees were interviewed about how and when they experienced their ethnic identity at work. The findings demonstrated that increased salience in ethnic identity was experienced in two key ways: through 'ethnic assignation' (a 'push' towards ethnic identity) and 'ethnic identification' (a 'pull' towards ethnic identity). We explore how and when ethnic assignation and ethnic identification occur at work, and their relevance to how workplaces are experienced by this group of minority ethnic employees.The findings suggest the need for further research attention to the dynamic and episodic nature of social identity, including ethnic identity, within organisations, and to the impact of such increases in salience of social identities on behaviour at work.

Navigating panethnic categorization in the workplace: A study of British Sri Lankan employees

“…A more limited number of scholars go further to provide a conceptual understanding of how ethnic identity plays out in work settings. As previously noted, Kenny and Briner () argue that one way in which ethnic identity becomes salient is when individuals experience ethnic assignation and feel considered by others only as a member of a particular ethnic group. Ethnic assignation suggests to individuals that others may view them through a more limited and stereotypical ethnic lens that may contradict their own understanding of their strengths and capabilities (Kenny & Briner, ).…”

“…Scholars address how particular minority ethnic groups draw on various SIM techniques to respond to negative stereotypes that often influence how they are perceived (Roberts et al ., , ). Often people try to improve the way in which their group is regarded (e.g., Kenny & Briner, ). A significant limitation in existing understandings is that they fail to recognize that individuals are often classed as belonging to broad ethnic categories such as Asian and Black rather than to their distinct ethnic group (Trytten et al ., ).…”

“…Ethnicity, defined in terms of socially constructed shared perceptions of common cultural heritage (Smith & Silva, ), frames an individual's identity, influencing how she is perceived within the organization and how she conceptualizes herself (Kenny & Briner, ). Ethnic identity becomes salient when individuals feel assigned to a particular ethnic group by others and/or when they experience awareness of a specific cultural heritage themselves (Kenny & Briner, ). Feeling ‘ethnically assigned’ and considered only in relation to one's ethnic group membership can be problematic.…”

“…A limited but emerging number of studies address how individuals respond to experiencing ethnic assignation at work. While these studies provide valuable insights into how people mobilize various social identity‐based impression management (SIM) strategies in response to negative ethnic stereotypes (Kenny & Briner, ; Roberts, Cha, & Kim, ; Roberts, Settles, & Jellison, ), a limitation they share is their lack of attention to the effects of ‘panethnic’ assignation. When individuals are ethnically classified by others, they are often categorized by broad panethnic categories such as Asian and Black rather than to their distinct ethnic group (Trytten, Lowe, & Walden, ).…”

Com que Cor Eu Vou pro Shopping que Você me Convidou?

“…Isso se torna ainda mais evidente quando analisamos o mito da democracia racial (Freyre, 1961). Pautado na ideia de que, no Brasil, negros, brancos e índios teriam estabelecido um processo de miscigenação harmonioso, ao contrário do que se pode observar nos Estados Unidos (Atkinson, Rosati, Berg, Meier, & White 2013;Raynor, 2009), África do Sul (Ikejiaku, 2009;Worby, 2009) ou Reino Unido (Kenny & Briner, 2013), por exemplo. O mito da democracia racial sustenta que o Brasil não é um país racista, e que colocar em discussão o conceito de raça e de relações raciais é estimular um conflito não observável na sociedade brasileira.…”