Professional inequalities and internal activism: A Bourdieusian Perspective

Studies highlight the persistence of professional inequality. In this paper, we contribute to theory by illustrating how an internal activist group, created by professionals to promote social change internally, becomes a space for the reproduction of inequality. Drawing on Bourdieu's theoretical framework, we analyse qualitative accounts of 47 consultants in relation to one internal climate change group. Our findings reveal different ways in which existing power structures and inequalities marginalising minority professionals are reproduced within and through members' actions, reinforcing dominant doxa and symbolic violence. We also demonstrate how, at the intersection of concerns about climate change and the firm's neoliberal project, minority professionals employ strategies that, while seldom challenging the established 'rules of the game,' create a space for agency.