Dropping the Mask
Shankar Vedantam interviews legal scholar Kenji Yoshino about the sociological phenomenon of 'covering,' where individuals downplay stigmatized or non-dominant aspects of their identity to fit into mainstream culture. Yoshino traces the progression from conversion to passing to covering, reviews data on how widespread covering is across demographics, and outlines how individuals and organizations can foster psychological safety and authentic belonging.
- The classic melting pot ideal forces marginalized groups to conform to cultural rules established by the dominant group. Read →
- In a study of 3,129 Fortune 500 employees across eight sectors, Kenji Yoshino found that 53% felt expected to cover their personal identities at work, with 50% of that group reporting diminished commitment to their jobs. Read →
- In a study conducted with Deloitte, legal scholar Kenji Yoshino found that 61% of all workers mute parts of their identity on the job. Read →
- Kenji Yoshino outlines three stages of dealing with stigma: conversion (trying to change your identity), passing (hiding your identity entirely), and covering (keeping your identity visible but muting your behavior). Read →
- Legal scholar Kenji Yoshino outlines the historical shift in cultural demands: moving from conversion (forcing someone to change their core identity) to passing (forcing someone to hide it completely) to covering (pressuring someone to tone down an admitted identity). Read →