Title: Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace - ScienceDirect
Headings: Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Editorial
Managing (in)visibility and hypervisibility in the workplace
Abstract
Keywords
1. Visibility, invisibility, and hypervisibility defined
2. Characteristics of (in)visibility and hypervisibility
Contributions of this special issue
Future directions for (in)visibility research
Author note
References

Content: Societal and organizational norms are typically those of the dominant group (e.g., appropriate workplace attire) as their power and status allow them to create policies, practices, and standards. In contrast, representations of marginalized group members are largely absent or stereotyped. As such, invisibility places marginalized group members at a disadvantage because once they are rendered invisible, they are denied recognition, power, and voice ( Lewis & Simpson, 2010; Simpson & Lewis, 2005 ). Although the existing literature frames visibility as largely positive and invisibility as generally negative, the papers in this issue (further described below) suggest that there are conditions under which invisibility is preferred to visibility by individuals in marginalized groups ( Rabelo & Mahalingam, 2018; Settles, Buchanan, & Dotson, 2018 ). Differing positive and negative experiences associated with these visibility conditions highlight how the intersection of one's social identity groups shapes experiences. Intersectionality theory states that the meaning of one identity depends on the other identities one holds, and one's experiences are shaped by the power afforded to those identities ( Cole, 2009 ). As such, individuals might be marginalized along some identity dimensions and privileged along others, as in a poor White woman who is marginalized for her gender and social class, but privileged for her race ( Case, 2017 ). Such individuals might find themselves visible, invisible, or hypervisible depending on which identity or identities are salient in a particular situation.