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The chosen text highlights the problems faced by women of colour in Australian workplaces, particularly the challenges of racial marginalisation. They need to change their behavior or ways to fit into the mainstream culture. The experiences of Aksoy and Ojinnaka show how tough it can be to "fitting in" at a multicultural workplace, where they have to follow the cultural norms that are most widely accepted if they want to advance their careers. Their actions reflect how unequal power structures in the workplace. Therefore, we need to work together to create a workplace culture that's fair for everyone, where people can freely be themselves and have equal opportunities to grow.

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Why racially marginalised women hide their identity at work | The Business | ABC News

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Why racially marginalised women hide their identity at work | The Business | ABC News

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YouTuBe link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY-k9CObtVQ

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Why racially marginalised women hide their identity at work | The Business | ABC News

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It is essential to consider socio-cultural factors when examining the relationship between gender and power in positioning self(Bowe et al., 2014). Under the workplace culture norm the culture context compels interlocutors to re-negotiate and re-evaluate their modes of communication, identities, and power dynamics in order to accommodate new and at times divergent communication practices within the professional environment (Holmes, 2015).

Candidates from immigrant backgrounds may face more challenges in positioning themselves. Individuals from immigrant backgrounds, like Ojinnaka and Aksoy, frequently encounter heightened challenges in asserting their identities. They both engaged in "code-switching" by adopting “act white” for survival in their career paths due to disadvantages stemming from their gender and ethnicity.

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What strategies can organizations implement to create a more inclusive environment for women of color?

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This chosen text reveals an embarrassing situation for women of colour with a migration background in Australia, highlighting the broader issue of workplace diversity that significantly impacts racially marginalised women.

These women often encounter systemic barriers that are deeply rooted in ethnocentric perspectives, which further complicates their experiences in the workplace. As a result, some workers from migrant backgrounds feel compelled to adopt a strategy of assimilation, a response that reflects the challenges they face in navigating an environment that may not fully embrace their diverse identities (Kirilova & Angouri, 2018).

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When code-switching or identity concealment as a survival mechanism for minority groups, what are the long-term effects of these practices on their cultural identity?

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According to the 2021 Australian Women of Colour Workplace Survey,

60% of women of colour reported experiencing workplace discrimination.

66% feel pressured to conform to white cultural norms to advance their careers.

57% believe their career progression is hindered by their racial status.

We witness an urgent need for change in the workplace. Addressing these issues is crucial for improving corporate diversity and equity practices.

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Bowe, H., Martin, K., & Manns, H. (2014). Positioning the self: Role, power and gender. In Communication across cultures: Mutual understanding in a global world (pp. 118-135). Cambridge University Press.

Elfenbein, H. A., & O'Reilly III, C. A. (2007). Fitting in: The effects of relational demography and person-culture fit on group process and performance. Group & Organization Management, 32(1), 109-142.

Holmes, P. (2015). “The Cultural Stuff around How to Talk to People”: Immigrants’ Intercultural Communication during a Pre-Employment Work-Placement. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(1), 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2014.985309

Kirilova, M., & Angouri, J. (2018). You are now one of us–negotiating ‘fitting in’ the workplace. In The Routledge handbook of language and superdiversity (pp. 345-360). Routledge.

Women of Colour Australia, & Archer, C. (2021). Women of Colour Australia workplace survey report 2021. Racism. It Stops with Me. https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/resourcehub/women-colour-australia-workplace-survey-report-2021

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According to Elfenbein and O'Reilly (2007), "fitting in" is the capacity of a person to conform their behavior to the social norms, cultural values, and expectations of the team or organization of which they are a member. This capacity is especially crucial in varied and multicultural work contexts.

Kirilova and Angouri (2018) found that a wide range of implicit fitting-in factors are used by supervisors to show their professional in workplace, including maturity, physical appearance, attitude, and speech style.

In this text, Aksoy states, she colour hair, whiten skin, dress in more western fashion, all to make sure her further career advancement in Australia. Because the current Australian work environment is still dominated by western values. Aksoy attempted these to align herself with the dominant culture in the workplace.

These actions (change her appearance and clothing style) reflect her response to the organisation's "implicit" fitting-in criteria. Through these proactive changes, she hopes to be perceived as more aligned with the Australian workplace culture, thereby enhancing her opportunities for career advancement within the organisation.

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Similarly, Ojinnaka's statement that she "had to be less Africanised" to fitting in because she realised that the culture of the workplace was not enough friendly to her racial identity which she could not change. She actively changed her behaviour to get closer to more "Westernized" and reduce her racial identity to fitting in, in order to reduce cultural differences and unnecessary potential mental distress (racial discrimination, etc.) between herself and the majority of her teammates, and thus improve her workplace resilience and career prospects.

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Aksoy and Ojinnaka's "obedience" to workplace power structures

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Aksoy and Ojinnaka's "obedience" to workplace power structures

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Social roles are derived from institutional conventions, social expectations, and the possession of knowledge (Bowe, Martin & Manns, 2014). Since power implicitly controls identity and behaviour through social expectations, Aksoy and Ojinnaka adjust their appearance for career opportunities.This can be seen as a submission and concession to the power of the mainstream culture, a strategy to obtain career opportunities by adjusting oneself under the unequal power structure.

In mainstream culture, the distribution and definition of power is controlled by the dominant culture, and Aksoy and Ojinnaka, as a minority group, are in a weak position within this power structure. Their hidden behaviour is not only a personal choice, but also a strategy to deal with complex workplace power structures. This shows that power shapes not only behavior but also how minorities perceive themselves, requiring them to constantly adapt.

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Ojinnaka's journey highlights significant struggles with her racial identity, particularly during her high school years. Experiencing racist abuse led her to suppress aspects of her African identity throughout her career. Ojinnaka feared about her identity as an African after facing derogatory remarks, prompting her to modify her speech and appearance to gain acceptance in predominantly white society.

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Similarly, Aksoy's experience reflects her struggle with cultural identity. As a migrant, Aksoy used contact lenses to alter her pupils color and lighten her skin to make herself more in line with white aesthetics, which she herself realised is a form of code-switching. And she chose to dress in a manner similar to Westerners to advance her career, concealing her Turkish identity when interacting within a local context. She reflected she was "letting go of her own identity and cultural practices." during the process of fitting in (act white).

Thus, Aksoy's concealment of her cultural practices, appearance and identity over the years in order to fitting into a social environment with which she was unfamiliar was more of a survival mechanism than a proactive behaviour.

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For many women of colour the workplace is full of challenges

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For many women of colour the workplace is full of challenges

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For many women of colour the workplace is full of challenges

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“When gender and race intersect, it creates specific and unique challenges for women of colour that are too often overlooked.”

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Women of Colour Australia workplace survey report 

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Women of Colour Australia workplace survey report 

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Women of Colour Australia workplace survey report 2021

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Racism. It Stops With Me is a national campaign that provides tools and resources to help people and organisations learn about racism and take action to create change. The campaign invites us to ask ourselves important questions about the role of racism in shaping society, the way we see ourselves and how we interact with one another. To explore these questions and find out more information, visit the About the campaign section of this website.

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Please kindly provide your general feedback and comments in this section!

Thank you ❤️

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Based on the text background, our analysis focuses on the two key concepts:

1. Positioning

2. Fitting in and Power

to show how and why racially marginalised women hide their identity at work can be analysed in terms of transcultural communication at work.

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Shiyu Zhou 1071997

Xi CHEN 1431737

Puwei Gao 1336846

Xiaolan Liang 1441443

Zhiying Chen 1102069