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Diversity, Affect and Embodiment in Organizing pp 195–224Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Embodiment of Otherness: Deconstructing Power Relations Between Staffing Agencies, Diverse Jobseekers, and Organizations in the Israeli Business Sector

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Abstract

Prior research has not examined staffing agencies’ (SAs) impact on the workforce diversity of their client organizations, where jobseekers are placed to work. Our exploratory qualitative study addresses this gap in the literature as well as critically examines the embodiment of diverse jobseekers as constructed by SAs. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with recruiters in SAs that serve the Israeli business sector. The findings suggest that practices utilized by a recruiting agency vis-à-vis their clients could promote workforce diversity, while in reality they often inhibit it. We illustrate the dual potential effect of SAs on the workforce diversity of their client organizations and critically analyze their function as intermediaries that construct the “otherness” of diverse jobseekers and exploit it in ways which might exacerbate their employment precariousness. Theoretical considerations and practical implications are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Given the population of the State of Israel (about 8 million people, less than that of New York City), the size of its staffing industry is considered to be very large.

  2. 2.

    The SA industry in Israel is mostly feminine at most levels of the hierarchy. In this respect, it resembles the Israeli human resources domain, which is also mostly feminine (Nadiv et al. 2017).

  3. 3.

    The italics in the citations denote emphasis in the original, unless stated otherwise.

  4. 4.

    While the biases against certain Israeli social groups conveyed by some of the participants in this study may originally be their own opinions, the fact that they affect their daily working practices indicates that such biases are not monitored, prevented, or punished by the SA as their employer. As such, these discriminative attitudes and practices are part and parcel of the SA repertoire.

  5. 5.

    An immigrant Jew of Ethiopian descent.

  6. 6.

    The italics in this quotation denote our emphasis.

  7. 7.

    This group is conceived of similarly to WASPs in North America.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Resource Management Studies, Sapir Academic College, Sha’ar Hanegev, Israel

    Shani Kuna & Ronit Nadiv

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  1. Shani Kuna
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  2. Ronit Nadiv
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Correspondence to Shani Kuna .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Marianna Fotaki

  2. Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Alison Pullen

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Kuna, S., Nadiv, R. (2019). The Embodiment of Otherness: Deconstructing Power Relations Between Staffing Agencies, Diverse Jobseekers, and Organizations in the Israeli Business Sector. In: Fotaki, M., Pullen, A. (eds) Diversity, Affect and Embodiment in Organizing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98917-4_9

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