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I-O at a Crossroad: The Value of an Intersectional Research Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2016

Kayla Weaver ,
Matthew P. Crayne  and
Kisha S. Jones
Kayla Weaver*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University
Matthew P. Crayne
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University
Kisha S. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kayla Weaver, Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, 630 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16802. E-mail: kweaver@psu.edu
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Extract

The focal article written by Bergman and Jean (2016) draws attention to a critical void in the industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology domain: the study of low- and medium-skill workers. Although segmenting employees based on their job status may provide new conceptualizations of employee work experiences, this approach may not provide the nuanced view necessary to fully comprehend the many ways in which employees differentially experience the workplace. Within this category of workers, experiences may vary based on employees’ race, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), or other identity-defining characteristics, and these person-specific identities may interact with one another. An intersectional research approach provides a foundation on which researchers can more fully understand how individuals’ multiple social identities interact to affect their workplace experiences. In the commentary that follows, we provide an overview of intersectional research and describe how such a perspective would lead to meaningful developments within I-O psychology.

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 197 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2016 

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