The Participation Gap
Reproducing Socioeconomic Inequality in Workplace Participation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24228528 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jan Simon Danko (0009-0006-9903-552X, University of Zurich) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-12 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Work Employment and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09500170261455218 |
| OpenAlex | W7221614222 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 73 |
While workplace participation is widely endorsed as both a democratic ideal and a managerial imperative, access to it remains unequally distributed. Drawing on a Bourdieu-inspired organisational field perspective, this study examines how perceived inequalities in workplace participation are structured by class-based capital distributions and classed dispositions that align, or fail to align, with dominant organisational norms. Using original survey data from Switzerland, the article finds that individuals with higher socioeconomic standing report significantly greater access to workplace participation, even after accounting for their hierarchical position, educational attainment, and conventional sociodemographic factors. This relationship is mediated by classed dispositions differentially attuned to the rules of the game in the organisational field. The article thus challenges the normative assumption that participation inherently promotes equality, demonstrating that it can reproduce rather than redress social inequalities when underlying structural imbalances remain unaddressed.
Educational attainment · hierarchical position · Managerialism · Organizational field · Pierre Bourdieu · reproduction of inequality · socioeconomic disparities · workplace democracy · workplace participation · Labor Movements and Unions · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks
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| Highly cited | No |
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