(SCL6b) Culture and Inequality II

This session presents papers that develop culturally informed perspectives on social inequality. While the discipline of sociology has had a longstanding interest in understanding the interplay of culture and individual, interactional, and institutional processes of inequality, there remains much to understand and debate regarding the influences social inequality has on culture and the influences culture has on social inequality. The papers represent diverse methodological and substantive areas, including empirically driven or theoretically oriented contributions. They address a range of topics, including cultural inequalities in employment and recruitment, as well as representations of women’s academic careers in fiction. Tags: Culture, Equality and Inequality

Organizers: Taylor Price, New York University, Sonia Bookman, University of Manitoba

Presentations

Anastasia Kulpa, University of Alberta/Concordia University of Edmonton

A Career to Conjure By: Representations of Women's Academic Careers in Fantasy Novels

The inequalities and challenges of academic life and careers are difficult to ignore. In contemporary universities, academic labour is increasingly precarious, and faculty face intensifying demands on their time, leading to high levels of stress, concerns about not having done enough, and pressure to preform. These pressures are often greater for academics from marginalised backgrounds (e.g. women, people of colour, persons with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, etc.), as well as anyone in a precarious position in the academy or with significant caregiving responsibilities. Although these experiences of inequality are well documented in scholarship, they are poorly represented in media images of the academy. This project presents a discourse analysis of Deborah Harknesses’ All Souls Trilogy (adapted to television as A Discovery of Witches ), with a view to understanding how women’s academic careers are presented. In this series, the protagonist, Diana Bishop, is an academic, as well as a witch; she both works as a historian of science at Yale, and has the ability to change the weather and walk through time. Here, the contention is that the depictions of her career and work life are just as fantastical as her magic powers. A central premise of fictional works like these is that they represent a world very much like ours, save the addition of some fantastical element (in this case, the existence of witches, vampires, and daemons). However, Diana experiences a degree of flexibility, and an ability to direct her own time and step away from professional responsibilities which have very little in common with the academic literature documenting women’s work lives. Her academic world contains no precariously employed or sessional faculty, none of her students ever complain about anything, she does not experience time pressures at the end of term or because of administrative demands, and the only other human academic she is described as having sustained interactions with is a MacArthur fellow. While these representations would be of interest regardless of authorship, they are especially so in this case, because the author of these novels is a tenured faculty member at the University of Southern California; she has exposure to the realities of academic work, and nevertheless represented it in this way. The intent of this project is to examine what images of normative academic careers are presented in these books, to understand what is being presented as an “appropriate” or “successful” academic career, including both notions of what female academics should be doing, and how they should feel about and understand this work. Existing scholarship demonstrates that unrealistic portrayals of women’s bodies, and motherhood, among others, can affect women’s perceptions of themselves and their self esteem. This project aims to build on those contributions by highlighting the ways that women’s careers, specifically in the academy, may be represented in similarly idealised ways. It also contributes to scholarship on notions of the ideal worker in the academy, both from the perspective of the institution (e.g. the expectation of no, or few, commitments outside the academy) and the perspective of academics (e.g. an emphasis on aspects of academic work that academics themselves find satisfying and/or valuable in the construction of legitimate identities). Although this project is focused on a single series of novels, these novels are a significant portion of the overall media representations of women’s academic careers, both because of their immense popularity and the relative lack of representation of women’s academic careers in fiction overall. Please let me know if you need a French abstract as well.

Elahe Nezhadhossein, University of Windsor

Cultural Capital and Employment: Investigating the Impact of Cultural Barriers on the Recruitment of Skilled Racialized Minorities in Canada

This research investigates the discriminatory barriers encountered by racialized minorities with advanced education or work skills in Canada, with a specific focus on the Windsor area. It aims to understand the influence of cultural differences on the professional recruitment of these individuals. The study is anchored in Bourdieu’s concept of “cultural capital” and the “cultural distance” hypothesis, exploring how cultural divergences between racialized minorities and non-racialized employers impact employment prospects for the former. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research combines quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews to gather a nuanced and comprehensive perspective of the issue. Cultural Barriers in Recruitment: The project emphasizes the significant impact of cultural markers (such as respect, presentation, religion, attire, accents, names, and behaviors) on the recruitment processes of skilled racialized minorities. Employers Perspective: Addressing a gap in current literature, this study focuses on employers views of cultural barriers in diverse industries, particularly within Canada. It seeks to understand these perspectives more deeply. Economic and Social Integration: The study underscores the importance of overcoming cultural barriers, not only for the economic benefit of racialized minorities but also for enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the Canadian economy. To rigorously investigate these cultural barriers in the recruitment of skilled racialized minorities, this study adopts a mixed-methods research approach, combining the breadth of quantitative data from surveys with the depth of qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews. Mixed-Methods Research: The combination of surveys and interviews facilitates data triangulation, enhancing the studys reliability and depth. This methodology allows for a richer understanding of the complex cultural factors influencing recruitment. Quantitative Data: Surveys will provide numerical insights into employers perspectives and experiences. Qualitative Data: Interviews will reveal detailed aspects of employers attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Preliminary findings from the study reveal a nuanced landscape where cultural differences notably influence the recruitment of skilled racialized minorities, often leading to disparities in employment and income based on both physical and cultural markers. Cultural differences significantly affect the recruitment of racialized minorities, often resulting in occupational and income disparities based on physical and/or cultural identifiers. There is a critical need for policy initiatives and educational programs to help employers recognize and address these cultural barriers, fostering a more inclusive workforce. This research aligns with the conferences focus on challenging hate, addressing the subtle forms of discrimination and prejudice that racialized minorities encounter in professional environments. It contributes to discussions on equity and inclusion, emphasizing the recognition and appreciation of cultural diversity in the workplace. The research offers vital insights into the cultural dynamics influencing the recruitment of skilled racialized minorities in Canada. By concentrating on the Windsor area and potentially expanding to the Greater Toronto Area, it provides a distinctive outlook on the challenges faced by these groups in both urban and rural contexts, especially in sectors like the automotive industry. The findings aim to guide policy-makers, employers, and other stakeholders in fostering a more inclusive and culturally sensitive professional landscape. In conclusion, this research presents a critical examination of the role of culture in the recruitment of highly skilled racialized minorities in Canada. By understanding the cultural barriers from the employer’s perspective, particularly in the Windsor area, it contributes to the development of strategies for a more equitable and diverse workforce, benefiting both racialized minorities and the broader Canadian society.