“If they're not like us, they won’t get in”: whiteness and racial quotas in federal teaching recruitment processes

Abstract

This article seeks to examine the mechanisms of whiteness that influence the implementation of racial quota policies in faculty recruitment processes at federal public higher education institutions, with the aim of preserving the privileges of the white racial group. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative and critical approach, based on five in-depth interviews conducted with Technical-Administrative in Education (TAE) staff at a federal university, all of whom had previously assisted in faculty selection processes that included racial quotas. The findings reveal that the operations of whiteness are articulated through the reinforcement of a discourse of traditionalism purportedly intrinsic to the university, the mobilization of influence networks to shape various stages of the selection process – including the determination of exam topics and the composition of evaluation committees – and the orchestration of assessment procedures that ultimately facilitated the approval of white candidates, even for positions reserved under the racial quota system.