Conditions of visibility: An intersectional examination of Black women's belongingness and distinctiveness at work

Abstract

Employees face tensions to feel as if they are seen and appreciated as unique individuals while also feeling as if they belong in their workgroups and organizations. To resolve these tensions, scholars and practitioners advice that employees seek optimal distinctiveness—that is, increase their uniqueness without sacrificing belongingness—to feel valued and included at work. We argue, however, that marginalized employees may not have control over their distinctiveness and belongingness at work. In this paper, we argue that the high and low dimensions of belongingness and distinctiveness interact to create conditions of visibility that distort how Black women are seen, evaluated, and treated in the workplace. We argue that these conditions of visibility are gendered and racialized—that is, reinforced through hierarchies that systemically normalize Whiteness and maleness in organizations. We elaborate on these four conditions—precarious visibility, invisibility, hypervisibility, and partial visibility—and how they affect Black women's vocational experiences. Collectively, these conditions of visibility broaden our understanding of Black women's career trajectories as inextricably related to deeper structures of race, gender, and power in organizations and society at large. Therefore, we conclude with strategies to counteract how conditions of visibility undermine the careers and well-being of Black women and marginalized employees more broadly.