Autoethnography as a research method

In this chapter, we analyse autoethnography as a unique methodology that can inspire deep knowledge about social phenomena that is difficult to generate through other conventional qualitative approaches. Using workplace diversity in employment relations (ER) as an area of research inquiry, we reflect on our experiences as four academics who have worked or still work in the international development sector for at least one decade, spanning a range of intersecting identities and positionalities. We adopt collaborative autoethnography, an experiential qualitative research method that enables each researcher to analyse their own personal experiences to interpret wider socio-cultural phenomena. A strength of autoethnography is that it prioritises the voices of lived experiences in research and, where it is collaborative, it allows for cross-referencing and consensus-building, disrupting common power imbalances created between the researcher and the researched. In this chapter, we analyse some opportunities and challenges of the methodology to offer lessons in utilising the method to conduct research on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We also reflect on how our insights may reveal the true impact of promises for diversity and inclusion at work and contribute to doing development differently.