Abstract
Racism is a structure of oppression rooted in the social formation of Brazilians, given the economic importance of slavery, which lasted for 349 years. Although it was extinguished more than a century ago, it is still reflected in the serious problem of racial inequality in the country. The social and economic conditions of blacks in the country are the worst in all statistics on education, health, housing, employment, income, violence and mortality. Between 2001 and 2015, the rare presence of black executives in 500 companies analyzed by the Ethos Institute varied from 4.8% to 5.8%. There is a normalization and legitimization of historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal dynamics, which give advantages to the white population, while perpetuating disadvantages for the black population. The objective of the research is to understand the manifestation of structural racism, through systemic white privilege and racial norms in business organizations, by analyzing the discourse of leaders. The investigation is founded on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted with organizational leaders. The racial norms and the systemic white privilege perpetuate the inequality originated in Structural Racism, in a complex and multidimensional system that is fed, sustained and justified by normalized ideologies of meritocracy and color-blindness. The low level of awareness of structural racism in leaders, the subjectivity of recruitment and assessment and the low number of diversity and racial inclusion projects in organizations in Brazil are factors that negatively impact access to work and careers for black Brazilian professionals.
Presenters
Marcos SamahaPrograma de Pos-Graduação em Administração de Empresas, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie , São Paulo, Brazil
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Systemic White Privilege, Racial Norms, Structural Racism, Critical Discourse Analysis
