CTRL + ALT + INCLUSION: Structural Whiteness and the Diversity Paradox for Women of Color in the Tech Industry

Large tech companies have historically invested heavily in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), fostering reputations as corporate DEI leaders. Despite these investments, this industry has failed to meaningfully address the systemic underrepresentation of women of color. Drawing on theories of progressive neoliberalism and structural whiteness, we argue that corporate diversity management operates based on racially extractive and nonperformative logics. Although white employees are exempted from accountability and engagement, women of color are expected to perform the labor of DEI in the absence of status, authority, or resources. Based on the analysis of 24 in‐depth interviews with women of color employed in the tech industry, we find that women of color serve as both representatives of and laborers for DEI within white organizations. Exploring this positionality reveals the misalignment between public commitments to DEI and the reality of “doing diversity” on the shop floor. We identify four themes that illustrate how women of color navigate the extractive and nonperformative nature of diversity management regime: (1) whiteness as authority and exemption, (2) depoliticized remedies, (3) diversity as legitimacy work, and (4) refusal and repair.