Ethnicity and Gender at Work

Written in an accessible style, this recently published book sets out to explore the careers and experiences of black and minority ethnic working women by drawing upon qualitative research conducted by the authors as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Future of Work Programme. Not only does the book focus on the inequalities these women encounter in the workplace, it also shows how their active trade union involvement impacts upon their careers. By starting with a review of current knowledge and then moving on to an explanation of their research design followed by an analysis and discussion of their findings, the authors adopt a structure which will be familiar to academics and students.

Organised over six chapters, the first half of the book considers the main topics to emerge from the literature associated with ethnic and gender based inequalities. This includes chapters dedicated to exploring the role the state, employers and trade unions have in addressing discrimination and inequality. Other sections address specific issues relating to ethnicity and gender such as migration, flexibility and the feminisation of the labour market. Although these chapters perhaps present nothing radically new, this first half of the book nevertheless provides a useful overview of the key themes in this body of literature and where relevant is supplemented with up‐to‐date data such as employment statistics from the UK and USA.

The second half of the book is where, in my opinion, the book really adds value. Drawing on the accounts of 56 black and minority ethnic female trade union activists in four unions (CWU, NATFHE, UNISON and USDAW), interviews with trade union officers, trade union documentation and insights gained from attending union conferences and dissemination events, the authors offer detailed insights and rich descriptions of the careers of black and minority ethnic women. The extended quotes taken from respondents such as “Bella”, “Gita” and “Ginette” particularly help to bring the research to life. These offer thought‐provoking personal illustrations of these women's careers and the inequalities they have faced. The themes to emerge from this fieldwork are explored over four chapters and include the women's experiences of inclusion and exclusion in the workplace, their career, their trade union career and how their involvement in their trade union impacts on their role in their community and family. There are a number of interesting ideas to emerge from this part of the book such as the belief that being a trade union activist can be beneficial to the organisational careers of black and minority ethnic women and the developmental benefits these women can gain from taking an active role in their local community working as, for example, school governors and magistrates.

The book ends with a concluding chapter which brings the key themes of the text together. A finding highlighted here is the notion that black and minority ethnic women do not have linear careers but ones which are typified by indeterminacy. Perhaps the most important issue to be explored in the conclusion though, is the notion of “intersectionality” and is a theme which is revisited throughout the book. Both authors argue that in order to truly understand workplace inequalities, gender discrimination and discrimination based on ethnicity, race and class are issues which should be analysed simultaneously, rather then separately as they typically have been in the past. They suggest that one of the key objectives of doing this is to “…understand the intersection between these various dimensions of social difference and to understand how this process offers new insights” (p. 43). This is an important idea which I believe could be usefully extended to other combined dimensions of discrimination such as gender and disability, sexual orientation and age and ethnicity and age. The conclusion also offers suggestions as to how workplace inequalities could be addressed more effectively, through, for example, the trade unions promoting more radical forms of the equality agenda in their activities.

In my view this book would appeal to readers of Personnel Review, in particular academics researching and teaching in the areas of discrimination, inequality and career development. It is unlikely though that this book would be a core source for undergraduate or postgraduate students, but instead a useful supplementary text. Practitioners responsible for developing policies concerned with equality, diversity and career management would also benefit from consulting this book. In addition, individuals with an interest in trade unions are likely to find this publication of interest. Researchers adopting a qualitative approach to their work may also find this book helpful as it offers some useful insights into how in‐depth interviews can be used as a method to explore personal issues such as workplace discrimination. In my opinion readers would be able to dip in and out of the text but would benefit the most from reading the book in its entirety.

In summary, this text provides a detailed exploration of the careers of black and ethnic minority women who have an active involvement in their trade union. Although the initial part of the text addresses concepts which are well‐established, the second half of the book makes a strong contribution to knowledge by drawing on a large number of personal accounts to highlight the extent and nature of the discrimination these women face.