The racialization of affirmative action in organizational discourses: A case study of symbolic racism in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

The present article provides an analysis of a critical area in which “race”, racism and racialization continue to manifest themselves and evolve in post-apartheid South Africa, namely, the world of work. It presents a case study of symbolic racism, by critically analyzing the organizational discourses produced by 33 employees in a training workshop developed and adapted to address issues of “racialised” conflict, and promote intercultural sensitivity and cooperation in a state-owned South African company undergoing structural affirmative action transformation. The findings point to the central function that “race” continues to occupy, both as a cognitive and emotional lens through which to process information about self and other in relation to affirmative action. They suggest that while South Africans have changed their language on “race”, their assumptions about “racial asymmetry” persist in more subtle and implicit forms. The implications of these findings with regard to the design, implementation and evaluation of intercultural training programs aimed at de-racialising subjective, social and institutional realities are discussed.