The White Pages: Diversity and the Mediation of Race in Public Business Media

Abstract

In this article we examine the empirical impact of diversity on non-white participation in corporations by analyzing images of racial minorities that appear in business magazines. Our findings indicate that odds of non-white inclusion increase when explicit reference to diversity is made. We also find that non-whites are more likely to be depicted as having ancillary roles in corporations; rarely are they presented in leadership positions. Media images are not only produced and disseminated, they are translated into social practices. Therefore we also consider how the images that are included in the magazines we reviewed may inform organizational practices that shape the racial makeup of corporate workplaces. We argue that how and when non-whites are included in these media reinforces an emergent ideology, which concedes that diversity enables corporations to give discursive attention to race without prompting deep investigations into continuing patterns of racial inequality in the workplace.