79th Annual Meeting Day 5 Recap: The Black Experience

Today is the last day of the 79th AOM Annual Meeting in Boston. We’re so pleased with the turnout – more than 10,000 people representing 82 countries joined us this year. Throughout the week, members engaged in rich conversations about research methods, the role of inclusive organizations and how we can all work to nurture them, and the value diversity brings to the workplace. Here’s a sampling of the discussions we heard today.

The Black Experience

Dr. Veronica Caridad Cruz Rabelo (@VeroRabeloPhD) shared valuable insights and quotes she heard from her session about “The Black Experience: A Multi-Perspective View of Black Employee Experiences in the Workplace.”

Dr. Rabelo heard from Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts (@alignmentquest) that “the ‘business case’ for diversity belies troublesome and dehumanizing narratives, essentially conveying to black people: ‘Prove to me that you are human and deserve to be treated as such.’”

Dr. Rabelo shared a survey that found experiencing even vicarious racial trauma makes it difficult for black employees to thrive and belong at work. What can we do to make our communities, campuses and companies safer for black people?

• Supervisors who express genuine concern and support may help.
• As white and non-black people of color, we are all complicit in systems and practices that create fear/danger for our black neighbors/colleagues. We need to do better.

While today was the last day of the annual meeting, the work doesn’t end here. Our scholars are going back to their colleges and universities refreshed by the new ideas and insights shared by their peers, inspired to share their newfound knowledge with their colleagues and re-dedicated to the work that is making a difference around the world in business management.

Join the Academy of Management at our upcoming Specialized Conference: Responsible Leadership in Rising Economies, Oct. 23-25, 2019, Bled, Slovenia

We encourage you to check back to news.aom.org to gain insights from those conferences. And, you can always find our scholars and their work on Twitter @AOMConnect, on Facebook @AOMConnect and on LinkedIn @AcademyofManagement.