ºÚÁÏÉç

Summer Jackson

Harvard Business School

Above? Or Beyond? Promotion Mobility Toolkits and Racialized Class Enactment in Tech

Date: Friday, April 11, 2025
Time: 10:30 AM -12:00 PM
Location: Online

All are cordially invited to attend.

Abstract:

How and when are Black workers promoted in technology companies? While prior research has examined how racial stigma and network exclusion shape Black workers’ mobility, less attention has been paid to which forms of workplace agency are interpreted as promotable—and how those interpretations are shaped by race and class. In fast-paced startup environments that prize proactivity, entrepreneurialism, and the ability to navigate ambiguity, it’s not clear whether all forms of initiative are recognized and rewarded equally. In this study, I show that despite having similar middle-class backgrounds and working in the same occupational role, Black and White middle-class customer service agents at a technology company used different promotion mobility toolkits—a class-based repertoire of strategies for career advancement that shape workers’ behaviors, decisions, and self-presentation at work—leading to different promotion outcomes. While all middle-class workers in my study engaged in entrepreneurialism, the way they enacted it differed: Black agents were entrepreneurial within their role, while White agents were entrepreneurial outside their role. These differences in strategy were shaped by racialized class enactment—the process by which individuals navigate workplaces and institutions by drawing on class-based strategies of success that are shaped, constrained, or enabled by their racial identity. While both approaches aligned with the company's stated values, only entrepreneurial activities outside the role led to higher promotion rates. I found that the racialized class enactment of promotion mobility toolkits structured both network formation and managerial perceptions, advantaging White workers, who built broad networks and were seen as leadership material, while constraining Black workers, who built deep networks and were seen as high performers but not promotable. My article contributes to research on racial disparities in career mobility, the racialized structuring of workplace agency, and the expansion of ideal worker norms to include race and class.