Intersectional Inequalities and Invisibilization in Organizations: The Case of Indian Beauty and Wellness Services

Abstract

Discourses on social inequalities and the processes that sustain, reproduce, and reify them have been a long-standing area of scholarship. This paper focuses its attention on intersecting inequalities at workplaces and the organizational processes that support and enable their invisibilization. Building on this idea of invisibilization, we take a critical look at the active and conscious work done to keep inequalities hidden within organizations. In doing so, we understand and advance invisibilization as a twin concept that is primarily framed as a power equation but also acts as a visual illusion that obfuscates inequalities. We discuss this obfuscation by exploring intersectional inequalities within the Indian beauty and wellness services (BWS), a majorly unorganized sector that has a visible workforce of women migrants belonging to indigenous communities from the northeast region of the country. Using frameworks of Intersectionality, New Racism, and Othering, we argue that hiring within the BWS normalizes a heteropatriarchal-savarna gaze of the indigenous other, where women are routinely racialized and sexualized to be inducted within the industry. Further, this case study exemplifies how visible frames of gender inequalities invisibilize other ethno-racial, and regional inequalities within workplaces. Building on these findings, we suggest that organizations invisibilize inequalities by (a) co-opting a progressive vocabulary; (b) performing a normalizing function; (c) creating obfuscation; and (d) building a visual facade. Finally, this study contributes by broadening our theoretical understanding of invisibilization, especially in the context of intersectional inequalities, wherein inequalities are normalized through everyday practices within organizational hiring and training, among others.

Invisible Inequalities: Barriers, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…Studies in this issue highlight a range of invisible inequalities that can be experienced due to attributes or characteristics that are not readily apparent. These include social class (Côté, 2023;Meuris & Gladstone, 2023), caste (Majumder & Arora, 2023), neurodiversity (Ezerins et al, 2023), mental illness (Colella & Santuzzi, 2022), and sexual orientation (Dhanani, Totton, Hall, & Pham, 2022;Roberson, Ruggs, Pichler, & Holmes, 2023).…”

“…For example, some organizations might adopt and normalize some work practices (e.g., serving of alcohol) that are not aligned with religious practices of some individuals (e.g., employees who may not drink alcohol on account of their religion), thereby resulting in unrecognized exclusion of some employees (Van Laer & Essers, 2023). Similarly, as Majumder and Arora (2023) showed, organizations that adopt workplace practices that are based on the dominant religion or culture of a country might impose those practices on employees from minority groups (e.g., giving names that conform to dominant culture's preferences, insisting on practicing vegetarianism at the workplace, not displaying symbols of minority religions), thus leading to inequalities.…”

“…Second, a focus on invisible inequalities can identify relatively unexplored outcomes. Examples of these include the erasure of indigenous identities and cultures (Majumder & Arora, 2023) and diminishment of ethnic identities (Jakob Sadeh & Mair, 2023) by the use of work practices that are informed by a dominant culture. Such erasure and diminishment may have consequences for employee inclusion and well-being.…”

“…Without a collective understanding, it is difficult to collect data to assess the extent and impact of invisible inequalities, make interventions, and evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions, all of which contribute to the persistence of such inequalities. The absence of a collective understanding might also allow those in positions of power and privilege to downplay, obfuscate, or deny the existence of these disparities (Majumder & Arora, 2023). Such strategic ignorance (McGoey, 2012) allows those with power and privilege to maintain Lack of individual awareness.…”

“…For example, Van Laer and Essers (2023) showed that religious practices of some employees may become sources of disadvantage in the context of organizational practices that are seen as secular. Similarly, Majumder and Arora (2023) showed that indigenous cultures are marginalized due to the adoption of the practices of the dominant culture.…”