Manifestations of Racism in the Engineering Workplace

Abstract

Background: This paper focuses on the manifestation of racism within the computer and information technology (IT) sector of engineering. The IT sector lacks diversity and a welcoming environment, particularly for women and People of Color. Thus, this paper serves as a case study to interrogate the culture of engineering workplaces. This paper focuses on the narrative of Ben, a Black engineer, as he navigates his engineering workplaces. Purpose: his paper contributes to the literature on justice and equity in engineering, specifically the experiences of a Black engineer. We examine how workplace cultures affect the extent to which Ben can authentically be himself as both a Black man and an engineer and how racism manifests within the workplace. We also aim to provide guidance to other researchers on qualitative data analysis through our detailed presentation of the results. Method: This paper presents a narrative analysis of experiences shared by Ben, a Black engineer. Specifically, he was interviewed about his workplace experiences. Interviews were read through the lenses of racial and vocational identity development, in/authenticity, and the manifestation of racist ideas. Results: We explicitly identified how racism manifested throughout engineering workplaces through Ben’s narrative. Early in his career, Ben was inauthentic to his personal identity and conformed to the normalized workplace culture, but he established his authenticity and racial identity as he matured as a professional. Conclusions: Ben’s experiences illuminate how pathways through engineering and engineering workplaces are built on white normative expectations.

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