20087: Exploring Identity in Context: The South African Context as a Springboard

This professional development workshop will allow participants to engage with various aspects of identity in South Africa and their broader implications for theorizing and studying how context shapes identity construction, negotiation and renegotiation in professional, managerial and work contexts. The socio-political history and complex intersections of South Africa provide a springboard from which to respond to calls for more attention to context in identity studies. Context plays a vital role in understanding identity, especially in South Africa, where historical divisions have shaped identities in ways that are both distinct and often marked by oppression and violence. Power has been identified as central to understanding identity (e.g. Brown, 2022) but as Allen (2003) argues, it manifests differently across geographical contexts. Therefore, it is essential to consider geographical factors when analyzing power dynamics within specific contexts in conjunction with other determinants of identity. The South African context allows for a dual examination of how power influences identities. South Africa’s geographical location within the ‘Global South’ allows for an interrogation into how power at a global level influences identity; while historical and on-going power differences based on gender and race/ethnicity in South Africa provide insight at the national level. The PDW has four main objectives: First, to bring together identity scholars to explore perspectives, challenges, and opportunities by considering context as a foundational element in identity studies. Second, to provide contextual considerations in identity studies within a developing context shaped by specific social and political history as a basis for exploring identity-related topics. Third, to examine how these considerations can enhance our understanding of identity in social and organizational settings. Finally, identity scholars will gather to lay the groundwork for developing a framework for studying context in identity research. During the session, scholars from South Africa will offer short presentations about their research and its implications for theorizing context in the study of identity. We will structure the workshop around the following research themes: 1. The historical and structural influences on identity and inequality with a focus on how South Africa's colonial, political, economic, and social histories continue to shape present-day inequalities and identities. 2. The intersectionality of identity work with an exploration of how different identity aspects (i.e., racial, linguistic, and cultural) intersect meaningfully during identity work as well implications for inclusive and HR practices. 3. Identity work across contexts to explore how employees engage in identity work within and across broader socio-political, cultural and organizational contexts. Each of the research questions will be managed in the following way. 1. A presentation, in which researchers from South Africa will briefly share their research on various aspects of identity, highlighting the implications these may have for understanding context. 2. In breakaway sessions, the attendees will be divided into discussion groups of 4 or 5 and asked to discuss the broad contextual implications of the presentation for their own and other settings. 3. During the feedback sessions members from each group will report on the main points of their discussion, which will be collated to identify a list of challenges, opportunities, and priorities for identity scholars. The PWD will begin with an introduction by the researchers and conclude with a summary of key themes.