Kevin Woodson. The Black Ceiling: How Race Still Matters in the Elite Workplace WoodsonKevin. The Black Ceiling: How Race Still Matters in the Elite Workplace. University of Chicago Press, 2023. 216 pp. $26, hardcover.
基于对100多位黑人专业人士的访谈，本书揭示了社会疏离、污名焦虑和制度实践如何共同限制黑人在精英公司（如律所、投行）的职业晋升，解释了种族天花板现象。
When we look within organizations, we see a common pattern: underrepresentation of people of color in leadership positions, particularly at the highest levels.This pattern becomes even more stark when we focus on elite institutionsorganizations that have up-or-out personnel practices and low odds of promotions, such as law firms, investment banks, and management consulting firms.While these institutions have often increased their diversity in entry-level positions, they have still struggled to diversify their upper managerial and partnership ranks.Kevin Woodson's compelling book, The Black Ceiling, offers a new explanation for this observed phenomenon.Drawing on qualitative interviews with over 100 Black professionals, Woodson argues that social alienation, stigma anxiety, and institutional practices converge to limit Black professionals' career trajectories in elite firms.According to Woodson, the upward mobility of Black professionals is hampered by racial discomfort-a broad social dynamic that he describes as the pervasive and subtle unease that Black professionals experience while navigating predominantly White workplaces.Specifically, Woodson highlights two forms of racial discomfort, social alienation and stigma anxiety, that lead Black professionals to feel isolated, marginalized, and vigilant within elite institutions.Social alienation arises from the cultural misalignment Black professionals face in workplaces that are predominantly and subtly shaped around White culture (e.g., communication styles, social interests, and informal practices; see Ray, 2019).As Woodson points out, without this cultural alignment, Black professionals miss out on essential relationships, which not only help workers to access premier work assignments but also provide workplace sponsors who could advocate for them (and their work) within the company.A second contributing factor is stigma anxiety, defined as the ''uneasiness and trepidation that many Black professionals develop in situations where they recognize they may be at risk of unfair treatment'' (p. 5) based on race.As a result of this stigma anxiety, Black professionals engage in racial risk management behaviors designed to shield them from potential mistreatment, such as racial reticence and self-concealment.Racial reticence occurs ''when Black professionals silence themselves to attempt to limit their exposure to discrimination'' (p.55) and can be construed as anticipatory management of negative racial stereotypes (e.g., incompetence, ''angry Black woman,'' and being aggressive or threatening; see Feldberg, 2022).Self-concealment is characterized as ''a form of impression management in which [Black professionals] intentionally limit their disclosure of details about their personal lives or authentic personalities in interactions with non-Black colleagues'' (p.60) and is a form of covering (Goffman, 1963).Importantly, Woodson notes that it only takes the mere