Social Closure

Relational Inequalities ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190624422.003.0006 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 134-161

Author(s):

Donald Tomaskovic-Devey ◽

Dustin Avent-Holt

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Case Studies ◽

Criminal Records ◽

Occupational Licensing ◽

Employment Contracts ◽

Social Closure ◽

Job Segregation ◽

Institutional Variation

Social closure is a process through which some groups, implicitly or explicitly, draw categorical boundaries around themselves and others to monopolize resources. Social closure has two faces: opportunity-hoarding for actors’ categorical in-group and exclusion of the out-group. We explore closure case studies around criminal records, occupational licensing, education, non-compete employment contracts, job segregation, sexual harassment, access to science and technology jobs, and discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. The case studies also highlight the important role of organizational and institutional variation in the degree and incidence of closure processes. We conclude that closure processes can be challenged by usurpationary movements, institutional regulation, and interactional resistance.

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Workplace incivilities: the role of interest conflicts, social closure and organizational chaos

Work Employment and Society ◽

10.1177/0950017009344875 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 747-773 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Vincent J. Roscigno ◽

Randy Hodson ◽

Steven H. Lopez

Keyword(s):

Sexual Harassment ◽

Organizational Context ◽

Large Population ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Workplace Incivility ◽

Organizational Processes ◽

Social Closure ◽

Race And Gender ◽

And Gender

Workplace incivility — that is, negative relational dimensions of employment with consequences for worker integrity and dignity — affects millions every year. In this article, the ‘organizational misbehaviour’ and ‘workplace chaos’ literatures offer building blocks for a conception wherein workplace incivility is viewed as emanating from the joint and sometimes interconnected influence of organizational processes and status-based social closure. The resulting multi-method analyses draw on coded information on incivility, organizational context, and relational and status dynamics from a large population of organizational ethnographies (N=204). Analyses reveal that all forms of incivility except sexual harassment are rooted in organizational chaos. Qualitative re-immersion into these ethnographic accounts provides further insights into how conflicts endemic to paid employment and broader social closure projects surrounding class, race, and gender play a role as well, albeit often in distinct ways.

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Virtue and the Law: The Good Moral Character Requirement in Occupational Licensing, Bar Regulation, and Immigration Proceedings

Law & Social Inquiry ◽

10.1111/lsi.12332 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 43 (03) ◽

pp. 1027-1058 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Deborah L. Rhode

Keyword(s):

Moral Character ◽

The United States ◽

Psychological Research ◽

Criminal Records ◽

Occupational Licensing ◽

Situational Influences ◽

Reform Strategies ◽

The Law ◽

Licensing Laws

Character plays a crucial role in US law. This article explores flaws in how moral character requirements determine who can work in licensed occupations, who can practice law, and who can immigrate to the United States or become a citizen. Section I summarizes psychological research on character, which raises questions about a central legal premise that individuals have a settled disposition capable of accurately predicting their behavior independent of situational influences. Section II examines the role of moral character as an employment credential. Almost a third of the workforce is covered by licensing laws that typically require proof of good character and often unjustly penalize the seventy million Americans with criminal records. Section III examines the idiosyncratic and inconsistent application of moral character requirements for lawyers. Section IV focuses on similar flaws in immigration contexts. Section V identifies reform strategies to improve the fairness of character-related decisions in the law.

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