When Race Becomes Capital: Diversity, Faculty Hiring, and the Entrenchment of Racial Capitalism in Higher Education

Abstract

Faculty hiring is an important dimension of diversity efforts across many postsecondary institutions. Many U.S. colleges and universities have released faculty job announcements establishing a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as a necessary criterion for applicants. This move is significant because it entrenches diversity as a commodity—an exchangeable good that universities value and are willing to pay for. This conceptual paper explores how underlying racialized cultures in academia incentivize People of Color to commodify their racial identity when participating in the faculty job market. By interrogating the racial character of capitalist exploitation, we expose how diversity imperatives shape the faculty hiring process at historically white institutions in ways that commodify, exploit, and devalue People of Color.