Experiences of epistemic racism among occupational therapists

Authors

Keywords:

Power, Knowledge, Racism, Social Justice, Qualitative Research

Abstract

Objective: Epistemic racism establishes the knowledges and ways of knowing of a dominant group as legitimate, invalidating those of groups marked by racialization. Professions are demarcated by their knowledge claims, making epistemic racism a powerful mechanism of exclusion within professions. This paper examines experiences of epistemic racism in occupational therapy across Canada. Method: Using a critical interpretive qualitative approach, ten therapists from racialized groups were interviewed (in-person or telephone), with transcripts coded and analyzed iteratively. Results: Participants routinely experienced epistemic ‘mis/fit’ with the profession, rarely seeing themselves reflected in the profession’s knowledge base, leadership, values or assumptions. Racialized therapists were routinely denied expertise and authority, by students, clients and colleagues. They walked a tightrope between professional assimilation and marginalization. Conclusion: The presence of racialized therapists is insufficient, when their authority is consistently delegitimized and they are required to assimilate. Leadership roles for racialized therapists must be accompanied with epistemological multiplicity, destroying the domination of whiteness.

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Published

2022-04-29

How to Cite

Beagan, B. L., Sibbald, K. R., Pride, T. M., & Bizzeth, S. R. (2022). Experiences of epistemic racism among occupational therapists. Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 30, e3211. Retrieved from https://cadernosdeterapiaocupacional.ufscar.br/index.php/cadernos/article/view/3211

Issue

Vol. 30 (2022)

Section

Original Article

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Copyright (c) 2022 Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy

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