Abstract
Orientation: Apartheid in South Africa constructed racial, economic, social and political segregation, the consequences of which are still experienced today. Government has made concerted efforts to ‘deracialise’ South Africa, most notably through affirmative action (AA) measures.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore employees’ social constructions of AA in a South African organisation.Motivation for the study: Research in this field focuses mostly on attitudinal perspectives of AA with an emphasis on traditional approaches. Subjective, contextualised approaches to AA have received little attention. Thus, this study aimed to critically engage with the embodied nature of prejudice, particularly in reference to how we understand and experience AA.Research approach, design and method: This study aimed to explore AA from a social constructionist orientation, using semi-structured interviews. More specifically, this study used Potter and Wetherell’s discursive psychology.Main findings: The findings illustrate how participants engage in discursive devices that continue to rationalise a racial order of competence. Ultimately, AA is a controversial subject that traverses many segments of life for all South Africans.Practical/managerial implications: The findings contribute to the discipline of industrial psychology, particularly with regard to policies around preferential treatment, and can add value to the ways in which organisational policy documents are conceptualised. The findings also suggest the importance of developing an inclusive, non-discriminatory organisational culture.Contribution/value-add: This approach adds to the existing body of knowledge around the embodied nature of prejudice. The study’s methodology highlights the value of studying context in meaning-making and implied inferences that underlie talk.
Highlights
Democratic South Africa is characteristic of massive social and economic inequalities, which are based largely on racial lines (Durrheim, Mtose & Brown, 2011; Franchi, 2003), most of which stem from the apartheid era
This study aimed to explore affirmative action (AA) from a social constructionist orientation with a focus on Potter and Wetherell’s discursive psychology
As a central feature http://www.sajip.co.za of discursive psychology, discourse is not to be approached as representations of mental states or actual events; rather, it depends on the broader discursive system in which it is embedded (Potter & Wetherell, 1987)
Summary
Democratic South Africa is characteristic of massive social and economic inequalities, which are based largely on racial lines (Durrheim, Mtose & Brown, 2011; Franchi, 2003), most of which stem from the apartheid era. In an attempt to address historic injustices, the South African government has made concerted efforts to ‘deracialise’ South Africa politically, economically and socially, most notably through the use of affirmative action (AA) measures within the labour market. The rationale behind this is that, since the implementation of the Employment Equity Act (1998), AA provides a platform from which to change the demographic weighting of disadvantage in the workplace. In the form of AA, to integrate South Africa’s historically disadvantaged into the labour force have been met with practical and ideological barriers from all areas of society Given these barriers, the current research is important for at least four reasons
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
