Black workers in Silicon Valley: macro and micro boundaries

Abstract

Black workers are the least represented minority group in the Silicon Valley high-tech workforce, constituting only 2% of the workforce at many of the top firms. Using data from an interview-based study at one demographically representative firm, I examine the formation of inter-racial collegial relationships between Black workers and their non-Black counterparts, relationships that are pivotal for job ascension, advancement and professional trajectory. Drawing upon boundary theory, I separate out what I refer to as macro and micro boundaries. The former designates socially imposed large group divisions, such as the Black/non-Black symbolic boundary that excludes Black workers at the firm. The latter are individually asserted social identities, derived from hobbies, sports or other interests. Applied empirically, these frameworks reveal the relational labour that Black workers engaged in when forming alliances in the effort to confront the exclusionary Black/non-Black macro boundary in the high-tech workplace.

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