How authenticity' at work can become a trap for people of color

"In the opening pages of Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work, the writer Jodi-Ann Burey issues a provocation: the commonplace injunctions to come as you are or bring your full, authentic self to work are not benevolent calls for self-expression they're traps. Burey's debut book a combination of memoir, research, cultural commentary and interviews seeks to unmask how companies co-opt identity, shifting the burden of institutional change onto individual workers who are already vulnerable."

"The dual posture that Burey experiences a push and pull between asserting oneself and seeking protection is the engine of Authentic. It lands at a moment of collective fatigue with institutional platitudes across the US and beyond, as backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs mount, and many organizations are scaling back the very structures that once promised change and reform."

"Burey enters that terrain to argue that retreating from authenticity rhetoric that is, the corporate language that trivializes identity as a collection of aesthetics, quirks and hobbies, keeping workers preoccupied with managing how they are perceived rather than how they are treated is not a solution; we must instead reframe it on our own terms. Through vivid anecdotes and interviews, Burey shows how marginalized workerspeople of color, LGBTQ+ people, women, people with disabilities learn early on to calibrate which self will pass."

Corporate injunctions to 'come as you are' or 'bring your full self' function as traps that co-opt personal identity into aestheticized, performative labor. Organizations encourage visible self-expression while deflecting responsibility for systemic change onto individual employees, particularly those from marginalized groups. Marginalized workers—people of color, LGBTQ+ people, women, and people with disabilities—learn to calibrate which aspects of themselves will be accepted, treating vulnerability as a liability. This dynamic produces emotional labor, pressured disclosure, and constant performance of gratitude. Reframing authenticity requires shifting focus from performative self-presentation to institutional accountability and tangible protections.

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