Marjolein Dennissen

169 English summary politics of preserving privilege . This means that these networks willingly cater to the privileged majority members of their network (i.e. members with single minority identities who are privileged on the basis of their other intersecting identities) and set the agenda according to their alleged interests. For example, a collaboration between the LGBT network and the ethnic minority network was considered relevant for only those members with LGBT-ethnic minority identities, and not for the majority of non-LGBT members of the ethnic minority network. A broader, less controversial theme and a reception were suggested as alternative ideas for a joint event. The board members thereby overlook the opportunity to address the exclusion that these members experience on the basis of their intersectional identities among a broader audience. Furthermore, my analysis of political intersectionality shows how diversity networks partake in a reversed OppressionOlympics. In a so-called OppressionOlympics , there is competition between minority groups to prove themselves as the most oppressed, but in this reversed OppressionOlympics , diversity networks emphasize their added value and positive contributions to the organization. Attention to discrimination and exclusion is constructed as a complaint. By doing so, the need to make a positive contribution to the organization forecloses the possibility to actually challenge inequality in organizations. Collective diversity networking practices: the key role of diversity killjoys Diversity networks are networks, and networks are the result ofmembers’ network ing . Thismeans that networks are accomplished through the actual networking behavior of their members. In Chapter 4, I therefore apply a so-called practice-based approach , wherein the focus is on the analysis of social practices . These practices refer to what people actually say and do in interactions. Drawing on a practice-based approach, I explore what diversity networks do and how network members are collectively networking to advance equality in organizations. I introduce the concept of diversity networking practices to characterize the networking practices that occur in diversity networks. Diversity networking practices refer to the collective sociopolitical actions of building, maintaining, and using relations in the workplace to advance equality in organizations. In my research, I identified five diversity networking practices: undoing otherness, building alternative structures, organizing events, appealing to organizational responsibility, and shaping organizational policies. These diversity networks practices can focus on network members and the organization and its management. For their members, diversity networks are able to create structures of support, solidarity, and belongingness for network members. Within diversity networks, members can create a safe space wherein they are able to challenge organizational norms, share experiences of exclusion, and undo their otherness while in these spaces. In addition, diversity networks are able to provide their members with structures of support, solidarity, and belonging as alternatives to the lack thereof in official organizational schemes. The events and activities organized by diversity networks can support their members in their personal development and facilitate community building.