How to Take Collective Action for Racial and Gender Equity at Work
July 25, 2022
“Collective action is necessary to achieve equity for women in organizations, particularly those from historically marginalized racioethnic groups,” according to this encouraging guide to workplace diversity. Opie, an associate professor of management at Babson College, and Livingston, an assistant professor of management at Iowa Tippie College of Business, make a case that women of different races must come together and push for equity. To do so, the authors lay out the practices of “Dig” and “Bridge.” The former requires thinking deeply about one’s own biases and preconceptions, and the latter consists of forming relationships with “people of different racioethnicities than your own.” Self-reflection exercises appear throughout: readers are instructed to “identify your social identities,” and to research power dynamics and ask themselves, “To what extent do you agree or disagree with what you have discovered?” There’s practical advice for forming relationships, too: white women should “work to establish trust” with women of color by demonstrating empathy and vulnerability. The authors’ message will leave readers hopeful: “Don’t agonize, organize,” they write, quoting “the rallying cry of the feminist movement.” Readers aiming to create equality at work will find great takeaways here. Agent: Alia Hanna Habib, Gernert Co.