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PDW 02 – Organizing for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion amidst and beyond Capitalism [09:00-13:00 CEST]

Convenors:
Koen Van Laer
Hasselt University, Belgium
Alexander Fleischmann
IMD Lausanne, Switzerland
Penelope Muzanenhamo
University College Dublin, Ireland
Ozan Nadir Alakavuklar
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Patrizia Zanoni
Hasselt University, Belgium

Call for Applications

Facilitators

Inge Bleijenbergh, Radboud University, Netherlands
Alessia Contu, University of Massachusetts, US
Daniel S. Lacerda, Montpellier Business School, France 

Purpose

The overall goal of this PDW is to provide a platform for scholars interested in advancing (organizational) research exploring the connections between Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), socio-economic capitalist relations and/or alternative, prefigurative organizing. The PDW is organized by the EGOS Standing Working Group (SWG) 02 Pushing the Boundaries of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Theorizing Transformative Change in Organizations, convenors from its Sub-theme (Sub-theme [SWG] 02: Reframing for a More Just, Equitable, and Inclusive World: The Role of Social Movements, Activists, and Change Agents within and around Organizations), and convenors from Sub-theme 20 (Alternative to What? Organizing amidst and beyond Capitalism for More-than-Human Livelihoods). It welcomes doctoral students and junior scholars, but also more experienced faculty, interested in the connections between these two subthemes, and topics such as the intersection between EDI and capitalist relations; the possibilities of pursuing EDI amidst and beyond capitalism; and connections between EDI and alternative and prefigurative organizations. We especially encourage submissions that develop novel ideas on these topics and push the theoretical, empirical and/or methodological frontiers of existing research.

The intersections between EDI and capitalist structures merit further attention, as scholars in the field of EDI increasingly question whether more inclusive and equitable organizing is truly possible within capitalist structures (Benschop & Lewis, 2025; Burchiellaro, 2021; Zanoni & Van Laer, 2024). On the one hand, the production of difference and inequalities in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, etc., is central to capitalism's access to cheap and compliant labour from which maximum value can be extracted (Prasad, 2023; Romani et al., 2021). On the other hand, ideas of EDI, anti-racism, feminism, etc., are increasingly co-opted by business as they attempt to profit from the appearance of caring about social justice, thereby de-politicizing it and using it as window-dressing while reproducing structural inequalities (Armstrong, 2025; Benschop & Lewis, 2025; Bogaers et al., 2024; Burchiellaro, 2021; Zanoni & Van Laer, 2024).

Moreover, there is a need to explore the intersections between EDI and alternative forms of organizing (Bell et al., 2018; Bendl et al., 2025). In particular, critical scholars are increasingly interested in alternatives situated within capitalist relations that mobilize its inherent contradictions (Alakavuklar, 2024) to prefigure the transformation of the capitalistic political economy (Zanoni, 2020). However, even in organizations aiming to challenge capitalist relations, we often see a reproduction of other types of inequalities, or an inability to truly ensure equity and inclusion for all (Sobering, 2016; Zitcer, 2015) At the same time, the awareness of intersectionality risks localizing politics and disavowing the dimension of political economy.

In this PDW, we will therefore provide a space to explore the connections and intersections between capitalist relations and those inequalities traditionally explored by EDI, related to, for example, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Moreover, we want to invite work that explores how EDI is co-opted by capitalism or how EDI surfaces in struggles against capitalism. This includes explorations of EDI and inequalities in organizations that prefigure alternatives to the capitalist political economy. Further, we welcome inquiries into the coloniality of capitalism, particularly, how it tends to undermine alternative systems of organizing in post-colonial settings.

Format

The online PDW will start with a brief introduction to the background and aims of the event by the organizers, followed by an introduction round of the participants. The workshop will allow for an in-depth engagement with each submitted paper (in two rounds) and ends with a closing panel, in which the organizers and facilitators will further discuss—in interaction with the participants—various perspectives on organizing for equity, diversity and inclusion amidst and beyond capitalism.

Preliminary program

09:00-09:30 - Introduction
09:30-10:45 - First feedback session in subgroups
10:45-11:00 - Break
11:00-12:15 - Second feedback session in subgroups
12:15-13:00 - Closing panel

Application

To be considered for the PDW, please submit a single document of application (.doc, .docx or .pdf file) via the EGOS website that includes:

  • A cover page with full details of name, affiliation, and email address;
  • A short statement of motivation for participation (200 words);
  • A proposal for a working paper or a draft of the paper.

References

  • Alakavuklar, O. (2024). Organizing food, faith and freedom: Imagining alternatives. Bristol University Press.
  • Armstrong A (2025). Diversity, equity and inclusion work: a difference that makes a difference … ?. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 44, 588–601.
  • Bell, M.P., Leopold, J., Berry, D. and Hall, A.V. (2018). Diversity, Discrimination, and Persistent Inequality: Hope for the Future through the Solidarity Economy Movement. Journal of Social Issues, 74, 224-243.
  • Bendl, R, Fleischmann, A. & Schmidt, A (2025). The (In)Visibility of Diversity in Alternative Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 196, 273–289.
  • Benschop, Y., & Lewis, P. (2025). Not just one woman at a time: Re-radicalizing a feminist project at work in a postfeminist era. Human Relations, 78, 934-956.
  • Bogaers, S., Van Laer, K., & Zanoni, P. (2024). Conditional openness to racio-ethnic otherness: Exploring white employers’ ambivalent self-Other constructions in the everyday work of reproducing whiteness. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 40, 101364.
  • Burchiellaro, O. (2021). Queering Control and Inclusion in the Contemporary Organization: On ‘LGBT-friendly control’ and the reproduction of (queer) value. Organization Studies, 42, 761-785.
  • Prasad, P. (2023). True colors of global economy: In the shadows of racialized capitalism. Organization, 30, 1113-1129.
  • Romani, L., Zanoni, P., & Holck, L. (2021). Radicalizing diversity (research): Time to resume talking about class. Gender, Work & Organization, 28, 8–23.
  • Sobering, K. (2016). Producing and Reducing Gender Inequality in a Worker-Recovered Cooperative. The Sociological Quarterly, 57, 129–151.
  • Zanoni, P. (2020). Prefiguring alternatives through the articulation of post- and anti-capitalistic politics: An introduction to three additional papers and a reflection. Organization, 27(1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508419894699
  • Zanoni, P., & Van Laer, K. (2024). Critical diversity studies. In A. Klarsfeld, S. Nkomo, L. Taksa, A.-F. Bender, & G. Cachat-Rosset (Eds), Encyclopedia of equality, equity, diversity and inclusion (pp. 37–42). Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Zitcer, A. (2015). Food Co-Ops and the Paradox of Exclusivity. Antipode, 47: 812–828.
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Koen Van Laer is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business Economics of Hasselt University, Belgium, where he leads the research group SEIN – Identity, Diversity & Inequality Research. Drawing on critical perspectives, his work focuses on disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion at work, on the way workplace experiences and careers are connected to power inequalities, and on the way ‘difference’ is managed and constructed in organizations. Koen’s work on diversity, inequality and inclusion has appeared in edited volumes as well as in international journals such as 'Human Relations, Organization', 'Scandinavian Journal of Management', 'The International Journal of Human Resource Management', and 'Work, Employment and Society'. He serves on the editorial boards of 'Organization' and 'Human Relations'.
Alexander Fleischmann is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Research Affiliate at IMD Lausanne, Switzerland. His research interest spans both alternative as well as profit-oriented organizations, exploring inclusion and how it is measured, inclusive language and images, ableism, and LGBTQ+ at work. Alexander’s work has been published in journals such as ‘Journal of Business Ethics’, ‘Organization’, ‘Work, Employment and Society’, ‘Gender in Management’, and ‘Journal of Management and Organization’.
Penelope Muzanenhamo is an Assistant Professor in Marketing and Society at the School of Business of the University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, and a multiple award winning scholar. Her position is an interdisciplinary role combining Marketing scholarship with societal concerns and Critical Management Perspectives. Prior to this role, Penelope served as Assistant Professor in Business in Africa, specializing in marketing. She is also the Africa lead within the Centre for Business and Society (CeBaS) at UCD College of Business, and Executive Co-director for the research theme “People, Work, Society” within the UCD Earth Institute.
Ozan Nadir Alakavuklar is an Associate Professor of Organization Studies and the Chair of the Organization Studies group at Utrecht University School of Governance, The Netherlands. He studies community-level grassroots organizations and post/non-capitalist theories for societal transformation. Ozan is the author of “Organizing Food, Faith, and Freedom: Imagining Alternatives”, published by Bristol University Press (May 2025).
Patrizia Zanoni is Professor at the School of Social Sciences of Hasselt University, Belgium. Drawing on various critical traditions, she investigates the relation between new forms of work and employment and processes of differentiation of labour along socio-demographic lines (gendering, racialization, ethnicization, ableism). Patrizia also works on alternative, post-capitalist economic forms.