Patricia Hein

• Hein, P. H.; Ansari, S., 2023, "How Managers Can Dismantle Benevolent Marginalization", Harvard Business Review
  Abstract: While there is a growing recognition of the significance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, many firms fail to break down the subtle barriers obstructing progress because they engage in patronizing behavior that the authors call “benevolent marginalization.” Drawing on insights from a decade of research on benevolent discrimination experienced by women and individuals with disabilities in the workplace, the authors propose three key strategies to help discard such protectionism while forging a path toward genuine inclusion: shifting the focus from help to empowerment, engaging allies in non-managerial roles, and creating supportive spaces by handing over responsibilities for shaping their own professional lives to marginalized individuals.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://hbr.org/2023/07/how-managers-can-dismantle-benevolent-marginalization

• Hein, P. H.; Ansari, S., 2022, "From Sheltered to Included: The Emancipation of Disabled Workers from Benevolent Marginalization", Academy of Management Journal, June 65(3): 749 - 783.
  Abstract: While there have been several studies on overt forms of marginalization, few have examined benevolent marginalization, where people may unquestioningly participate in their own paternalistic subjugation by following a prescribed identity. How might such individuals end up achieving emancipation from an infantilizing identity? To address this puzzle, we conducted a longitudinal study of a German sheltered workshop, an organization providing employment for disabled people. We observed that workers with disability initially maintained a regulating organizational identity based on paternalistic segregation. However, over time, they constructed their own self-determining identity and coproduced a change in the workshop’s identity from “shelter” to “inclusion.” First, we show that in order to coconstruct their preferred self-concept, benevolently marginalized individuals need to gain the support of those in power, who change their role from a guardian to an ally. Second, while achieving liberation from overt marginalization is likely to involve confrontation with one’s oppressors, we suggest that achieving emancipation from benevolent marginalization is a collaborative process of mutual consciousness raising and sensitization. Third, while changes of identity may occur after exposure to alternative discourses, often involving the contentious performances of external activists, we show how insider activists mobilize collective action for change within a protectionist organization.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2020.1689

For more publications please see our Research Database