Diversity as Philanthropy: Diversity Ideology among Pastors, Professors, and Professionals of Color

Abstract Examinations of diversity ideology have focused primarily on white people and institutions. As a result, there remains an open question as to the systems of meaning people of color may hold when it comes to diversity. In this article, I analyze 60 semi-structured interviews with employees of color across three organization types: churches, universities, and corporations. I find that employees of color hold a distinct diversity ideology marked by diversity as philanthropy. These employees give of their own time and resources for the collective uplift of constituents of color and use religious, experiential, and altruistic rationales to justify why they do so. Diversity as philanthropy serves as a racial project that upholds existing hierarchies by redistributing organizational power and resources to those who hold a surplus of it. This study has implications for the study of racial inequality and how it is reinforced within organizations through appeals to diversity.