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Ideals of Benevolence, Acts of Dysconsciousness: White Women's Pursuit of Diversity in Nonprofits

Fulmer, Tessa A
http://orcid.org/0009-0009-5913-9932
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1724371267319242

Abstract Details

2024, Psy. D., Antioch University, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology.
Recent political movements such as the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements have brought renewed attention to the social roles of White women and their unique position of intersectional privilege and oppression. White women experience the benefits of whiteness while simultaneously experiencing the gendered oppression of womanhood. However, there is a lack of research exploring how White women conceptualize and respond to their own positionality as both White individuals and as women. This study utilizes constructivist grounded theory to examine how White women navigate their social location within the context of working in the nonprofit sector, a space wherein White women are overrepresented and often in close contact with various elements of systemic oppression. The analysis revealed that White women view nonprofit organizations as protected spaces that allow them to foster careers without encountering overt sexism. However, White women also believe that nonprofits are fragile and easily threatened by external pressures. They seek to protect these spaces by maintaining a homogenous culture that aligns with White womanhood. They view increasing diversity as simultaneously aligned with their personal and organizational values and threatening to the organization’s culture and internal stability. As a result, White women engage in a variety of maneuvers that serve to symbolically pursue diversity without altering the fundamental culture of the organization. These maneuvers allow White women to see themselves as benevolent and values driven, while also maintaining their systemic power over People of Color. The findings offer insight into the role White women play in maintaining systems of racial oppression in response to their own fears of gender-based oppression, and guide recommendations for further intersectional deconstruction of oppressive systems. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).
Jude Bergkamp (Committee Chair)
Nuri Heckler (Committee Member)
Melissa Kennedy (Committee Member)
112 p.
Clinical Psychology; Counseling Psychology; Gender; Gender Studies; Multicultural Education; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Womens Studies
grounded theory; qualitative; intersectionality; critical race theory; whiteness studies; critical whiteness studies; women; white women; non-profit; not-for-profit; nonprofit; diversity; DEI; race; racism; gender; sexism; misogyny; patriarchy; dysconsciousness; dysconscious

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fulmer, T. A. (2024). Ideals of Benevolence, Acts of Dysconsciousness: White Women's Pursuit of Diversity in Nonprofits [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1724371267319242

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fulmer, Tessa. Ideals of Benevolence, Acts of Dysconsciousness: White Women's Pursuit of Diversity in Nonprofits. 2024. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1724371267319242.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fulmer, Tessa. "Ideals of Benevolence, Acts of Dysconsciousness: White Women's Pursuit of Diversity in Nonprofits." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1724371267319242

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1724371267319242
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© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.