Marjolein Dennissen

168 The Herculean task of diversity networks An intersectional analysis of diversity networks In Chapter 3, I introduce the concept of intersectionality to study diversity networks. Intersectionality refers to the interaction between different social categories that can form the bases of inequalities, such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, and disability. The concept of intersectionality aids in thinking about the complex interplay of multiple social identities related to the aforementioned categories. People always have multiple identities that cannot be understood separately. Yet, the implications of intersectionality for diversity management rarely materializes in organizations. Diversity networks are typical exemplars of present-day diversity management instruments that focus on singular identities as separate, unconnected categories. In this dissertation, I show that this has consequences for the contribution of diversity networks to equality in organizations. I thereby distinguish between two dimensions of intersectionality: structural intersectionality and political intersectionality. Structural intersectionality focuses on the individual experiences of people with regard to their intersectional identities. From a structural intersectionality perspective, I examine how individual network members deal with multiple identities within diversity networks. Diversity networks are mainly seen as consisting of homogeneous, unconnected categories with no attention to intersectional identities. The members that address the need for intersectional perspectives are members with multiple minority identities. Network members with single minority identities (such as white, heterosexual women without disability 1 2 ) tend to believe that issues relating to other minority categories, such as ethnicity, sexuality, or disability, belong to other networks that are organized around these categories. Thus, intersectional identities do not fit the neat boxes of diversity networks. For instance, I spoke with a lesbian woman with a disability who did not feel at home in the LGBT network nor in the network for employees with a disability. My analysis of structural intersectionality shows that the single category structure of diversity networks can reinforce the exclusion of members with multiple minority identities. Political intersectionality addresses the way that social identity groups organize themselves around different political agendas to combat inequality together. With a political intersectionality perspective, I explored how diversity networks attempt to collaborate with other networks to build coalitions to stimulate equality in organizations. My findings illustrate that coalition building is challenging and actual collaboration between diversity networks remains limited. Despite the low level of actual collaboration, the networks I studied articulated strong rhetoric around wanting to work together: collaboration between different diversity networks is seen as desirable and something to strive for. However, actual collaboration is fraught with problems. I show how the diversity networks in my study are hindered by a 1 For example, within a women’s network, white, heterosexual women without a disability are a minority in the organization with regard to their gender, but privileged on the basis of their other identities that refer to ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability.