2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research on diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism within engineering has generally focused on the individual. In addition, much of this work has been conducted in education settings, with less attention on the engineering workplace. Outside of engineering, research has shown that African Americans face multiple barriers in the workplace, including bias in hiring practices, salary inequity, unfairly negative performance evaluations, fewer advancement opportunities, token hiring, placement into positions not associated with core company activities (e.g., human resources), and perceptions of incompetence (Feagin & Sikes, 1994; Jackson et al., 1995; Thomas & Gabarro, 1999). Within engineering, research has identified a cultural mismatch between dominant white culture and the needs of Black engineers (Dotson, 2008; Gibbs, 2008; Rice, 2011; Ross, 2016; Ross & Godwin, 2016). Individuals use personal agency to overcome the racist barriers they face in the workplace (Ross, 2016; Ross & Godwin, 2016; Ross et al., 2021).

There are organizational structures that support the racialized experiences of Black workers. Ray (2019) noted the disconnect between organizational and racial studies. He proposed a theory of racialized organizations that has four tenets: “(1) racialized organizations enhance or diminish the agency of racial groups; (2) racialized organizations legitimate the unequal distribution of resources; (3) Whiteness is a credential; and (4) the decoupling of formal rules from organizational practice is often racialized” (p. 26). We have used Ray’s theory to address the research question, how do Black male engineers experience the engineering workplace as a racialized organization? The work presented here is part of a larger study that examines the experiences of engineers across multiple demographic categories.

For this qualitative study, we interviewed a total of 23 practicing engineers. Of those 23, nine were Black males, who constitute the participants for this paper. Participants were asked about their workplace experiences with questions such as “What is like to work at your company?” and “Tell me about an experience at your company that stands out to you.” Interviews were semi-structured, allowing the interviewer to probe particular topics in more detail. Interviews were transcribed and then coded using a priori codes based on Ray’s tenets.

The results show the multiple ways in which these engineers experienced their workplaces as racialized organizations. We saw racialized experiences across all of Ray’s tenets: agency, resources, credentials and decoupling. We also saw the presence of racialized schemas (default assumptions about how race “works”) and explicit acts of racism. Details of these experiences will be provided in the full paper. Overall, our results show the ways in which engineering firms are racialized to support white normativity.

Dotson, G. A. (2008). No employee left behind: The lived workplace experiences of inclusion/exclusion of African American engineering professionals within the semiconductor industry. (PhD), Capella University.
Feagin, J. R., & Sikes, M. P. (1994). Living with racism: The Black middle-class experience. Beacon Press.
Gibbs, T. S. (2008). From retention to detention: A phenomenological study of the African-American engineer experience. (PhD), Walden University.
Jackson, P. B., Thoits, P. A., & Taylor, H. F. (1995). Composition of the workplace and psychological well-being: The effects of tokenism on America's Black elite. Social Forces, 74(2), 543-557.
Ray, V. (2019). A theory of racialized organizations. American Sociological Review, 84(1), 26-53. 10.1177/0003122418822335
Rice, D. N. (2011). The career experiences of African American female engineers. (PhD), Texas A&M University.
Ross, M. S. (2016). A unicorn's tale: Examining the experiences of Black women in engineering industry. (PhD), Purdue University.
Ross, M. S., & Godwin, A. (2016). Engineering identity implications on the retention of Black women in engineering industry. Paper presented at the ASEE Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Ross, M. S., Huff, J. L., & Godwin, A. (2021). Resilient engineering identity development critical to prolonged engagement of Black women in engineering. Journal of Engineering Education, 110(1), 92-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20374
Thomas, D. A., & Gabarro, J. J. (1999). Breaking through—the making of minority executives in corporate America. Harvard Business Review Press.