ABSTRACT

Chapter 2 outlined macro-level employment patterns among diverse social groups, highlighting systemic inequalities and disadvantage across the dimensions of gender, race/ethnicity, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation. Chapter 3 explored a range of theoretical explanations for labour market inequalities and disadvantage. In this chapter the focus shifts to diversity in the workplace. Here, we explore how organizations contribute to reproducing and reinforcing macro-level patterns of inequality and disadvantage. The ubiquity of workplace inequalities is obvious – managers, executives and others at the senior levels of organizations have much more power and they earn far more than administrative workers, factory workers and others at the lower levels. In fact it is argued that organizational-level analysis is essential because much of the social inequality we see in many industrialized countries is created in workplaces by everyday activities and practices which reinforce both privilege and inequality (Acker, 2006). The chapter begins by describing the analytical framework of inequality regimes developed by Acker (2006). This framework is concerned with the organization of work and power relations in organizations and how these impact on different social groups. The chapter then proceeds to sections that examine organizational inequality regimes by gender, race/ethnicity, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation. One important caveat to note

is that we do not intend to give the impression that working life has only negative consequences for minority groups. On the contrary, work and organizations can offer opportunities for socializing, personal growth and development, and, of course, financial security. However, our task here is to seek to understand how and why the macro patterns of inequality, disadvantage and marginalization get reproduced at workplace level.