143928-Womens experiences of racial microaggressions in.pdf (258.31 kB)
Women’s experiences of racial microaggressions in STEMM workplaces and the importance of white allyship
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 22:44 authored by Robyn MooreRobyn Moore, Meredith NashMeredith NashThis article explores how gender interacts with race, ethnicity, and/or culture to structure the microaggressions experienced by visibly and culturally diverse women in Australian science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) organisations. Our aim is to disrupt the normative erasure of race from the workplace diversity context by focusing on these women’s experiences. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with women in academia, industry, and government who self-identify as women of colour or as culturally diverse. We use an intersectional lens to show that the challenges experienced by visibly and culturally diverse women cannot simply be subsumed under gender. Rather, race and gender intersect to create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and disadvantage. These issues are largely unintelligible in STEMM fields as science is positioned as gender- and race-neutral. Consequently, despite their devastating impact, racial microaggressions may be invisible to members of the dominant racial group—those most likely to be the peers and managers of visibly and culturally diverse women. White managers and peers can act as allies to women of colour in STEMM by respecting and amplifying their concerns. Learning to recognise and confront racial microaggressions can help make science workplaces more inclusive of all scientists.
History
Publication title
International Journal of Gender, Science and TechnologyVolume
11Pagination
1-20ISSN
2040-0748Department/School
Tasmanian School of MedicinePublisher
Open UniversityPlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
Copyright 2021 the authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Repository Status
- Open