Getting In, Getting Hired, Getting Sideways Looks

Organizational Hierarchy and Perceptions of Racial Discrimination

Bibliographic Data

ID5009014
AuthorsA H Wingfield (0000-0003-1532-6989, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), K Chavez (0000-0002-9183-2122, Indiana University)
Year2020
Volume85
Issue1
Pages31-57
Publication date2020-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-1224 • E-ISSN: 1939-8271
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0003122419894335
OpenAlexW2998510930
LanguageEN
Citations received94
References cited61

This article argues that black workers' perceptions of racial discrimination derive not just from being in the minority, but also from their position in the organizational structure. Researchers have shown that black individuals encounter an enormous amount of racial discrimination in the workplace, including but not limited to exclusion from critical social networks, wage disparities, and hiring disadvantages. But fewer studies examine the extent to which black workers believe racial discrimination is a salient factor in their occupational mobility or the factors that might explain their divergent perceptions of racial discrimination. Based on 60 in-depth interviews with black medical doctors, nurses, and technicians in the healthcare industry, we show that black workers' status within an organizational hierarchy fundamentally informs perceptions of the nature and type of workplace racial discrimination. These findings have implications for understanding how racial dynamics at work are linked to mental health, occupational satisfaction, and organizational change

Business · Hierarchy · Perception · Political science · Position (finance · Prejudice (legal term · Public relations · Racial hierarchy · Racism · Sociology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges