“Why not a blonde woman?” Identity realism and diversity work in New York and in Paris

Abstract

Drawing on 112 in-depth interviews with diversity managers in the regions of New York and Paris throughout the 2010s, this article explores how identity realism plays out in large companies that simultaneously affirm their commitment to abstract individualism and celebrate the benefits of diversity. The notion of identity realism refers to the organizational valuing of workers’ group identity attributes, notably race and gender, for the performance of specific functions. The comparative study shows that while in the United States minority identity (being all but a white male) is perceived as a qualifying attribute for the job, in France, majority identity (white masculinity) is tacitly valued as an asset for the role. Ultimately, the gendered and racialized bodies of diversity managers are major symbolic vehicles through which U.S. and French-based companies align the transnational category of diversity management with distinct national frameworks of equality and difference.

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