Dynamic structures of inequalities: Intersectionality in higher education

Abstract

Intersectional inequality in organizations is usually conceptualized in an idiosyncratic way, focusing on specific inequalities experienced by specific groups of employees. Such an idiosyncratic focus hinders understanding the generic mechanisms underneath organizational inequalities. This paper contributes to organization studies and diversity management literature by conceptualizing intersectionality as a dynamic structure of inequality, where mechanisms of inequality at the level of organizational structure and organizational culture, social interactions and identities may interact and affect different groups in different ways. To be able to grasp the complexity of such dynamic structures we propose the use of qualitative systems dynamics modeling. During participatory action research in a Dutch University, we involved 47 managers and employees in building a qualitative system dynamics model of the intersection between gender, nationality and ethnicity. In visualizing the dynamic structures of intersectional inequalities, we showed not only how intersectional inequalities added to each other, but also how they intersect and interact in time. Variables such as the diversity of selection committees and the perceived deviation of candidates from the norm visualize the intersection between gender, national and ethnic inequality. Gender and nationality intersect in the feeling of belonging of faculty, while the informal networks of international students connects nationality and ethnicity. Dynamic structures of inequality allow both dynamic equilibrium and dynamic change in an organization, explaining why change is difficult, but also showing how change could come about.