Inclusion challenges at the intersection of marginalized identities: a study of Black migrant women in South Africa

Velentza, Eleana

Inclusion challenges at the intersection of marginalized identities: a study of Black migrant women in South Africa

Thesis / Dissertation

2025

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Graduate School of Business (GSB)

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the inclusion challenges faced by highly educated, documented, professional Black migrant women in a Black-majority context, analysing the impact of their identities on inclusion across institutional, organisational, and social levels. While much research on migrant women has been conducted in Western contexts, little is known about how highly educated Black migrant women experience inclusion in African settings. Grounded in intersectionality theory (Crenshaw), identity theory, and social identity theory, the research examined how inclusion challenges emerge at the intersection of gender, race, and migration status. The main research question that guided this study was: How do inclusion challenges emerge at the intersection of marginalised identities of Black migrant women in a Black majority setting? Twenty-three highly educated professional Black migrant women, selected through purposeful and snowball sampling, participated in the study, which employed a qualitative, inductive, hermeneutic phenomenological methodology, utilising semi-structured interviews. The primary study findings revealed that gender, race, and migration status intersect in multiple ways, producing both inclusionary and exclusionary experiences. Meaningful inclusion requires engagement with processes operating at individual, organisational, and institutional levels. The contextual relevance of South Africa reinforces the salience of these identities, which are shaped by the interplay of social categorisation, self-identification, and differentiation. This interplay predisposes Black migrant women to institutionalised xenophobia, gendered and racial exclusion, and persistent othering. By investigating the strategic deployment of agentic identities in decentring otherness and marginalisation, the study develops a multi-layered intersectional identity framework that integrates individual, organisational, and institutional dimensions. The research advances intersectionality theory by introducing newly formed identities in response to institutional and societal exclusions, while also emphasising the need for nuanced approaches to inclusion. The findings underscore the urgency of robust intersectional institutional policies, structural reforms in organisations and institutions, and reworking notions of “otherness” within and beyond the workplace, offering significant contributions to both theory and practice.