Women at work in an American retail department store

• Main Author: Landry, Monica
• Language: EN
• Published: California State University, Long Beach 2015
• Subjects: African American studies|Black studies|Womens studies|Labor relations|Organizational behavior|Hispanic American studies
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1591603

<p>The rapid growth of the retail economy has created an abundance of low wage work. The retail sector often employs black and Latina women in low middle management and part-time positions while, white men and women hold top managerial and human resource positions. Consequently, a distinctive pattern of inequality emerges for women of color in retail work. Utilizing data from 20 in-depth interviews, I find black and Latina women's raises and promotions are stifled by the surveillance and bodily control they encounter on the retail floor. This study explores the simultaneous ways race, gender, class and body type intersect to place women of color in subordinate positions within the workforce. Moreover, this research provides insight into how the "white racial frame" is used to exploit women of color by both white management and the self-surveillance women of color conduct onto their own bodies. </p>