Professionalism as a Technology of White Supremacy
What do we lose—personally and collectively—when we professionalise our humanity?
Professionalism is often presented as a universal, apolitical, and neutral framework for conduct in the workplace. It is a standard meant to maintain order, ensure decorum, and promote competence. But beneath this polished surface lies a more insidious truth: Professionalism is not neutral. It is deeply embedded in racialised, colonial norms, a system of social control masquerading as etiquette.
The standards of professionalism—how we speak, look, dress, express emotion, and even relate to our colleagues—are not merely cultural preferences; they are ideological impositions that disproportionately regulate and suppress marginalised identities.
It functions as a form of surveillance. It is less about promoting effective workplace behaviour and more about upholding systems of power that benefit whiteness, maleness, heterosexuality, neurotypicality, and economic privilege.
The roots of modern professionalism can be traced back to European Enlightenment ideals, which exalted reason, restraint, and individualism—qualities attributed to the rational white man. In colonial contexts, these traits became tools of classification: those who conformed were deemed civilised; those who did not were categorised as irrational, emotional, and primitive.
Professionalism inherits this legacy. It defines and enforces what is deemed "appropriate" based on Eurocentric, patriarchal values. It rewards dispassion, linear communication, and visible productivity, while devaluing emotional expressiveness, non-Western communication styles, and communal approaches to work. The consequence is a system that privileges those who naturally align with these norms and punishes those who do not.