The “Double Whammy” Effect – New forms of marginalization in Professional Organizations

Over the last decade, professions and career scholars have become increasingly concerned with the work and career experiences of marginalized groups. One important area of investigation has been the persistence of structural inequalities and processes of marginalization in professional organizations. So far, much research has focused on categories of social differentiation such as social class, gender and ethnicity, and the lived experiences and career strategies of marginalized professionals. In this paper, we build on this research by shifting the focus towards new forms of marginalisation, particularly professionals’ involvement in an intra-organizational grassroots climate change initiative (CCI) and its implications for their work and careers. There are suggestions that climate change activism is a double-edged sword and concerns that getting involved could have detrimental career effects. In this paper we hence ask: How do marginalized professionals experience involvement in intra-organizational grassroots initiatives and what are the implications for their work and career? Methodologically, the research uses qualitative research methods, 47 semi-structured qualitative interviews with professionals that are involved in one CCI, and additional data material. Our preliminary findings suggest that while involvement in CCIs can help marginalized professionals to create community, and build confidence, it also creates new forms of marginalization, i.e., the “Double Whammy” effect.