Why do some people get ahead in the workplace, while others, equally qualified, fall behind? Rochelle Parks-Yancy uses the experience of African American workers across the US to reveal how the forces of inequality and social capital shape long-term occupational success.

Parks-Yancy's mixed-methods approach probes the ways that people find jobs, lose jobs, and get promoted, illuminating the subtle nexus of race, social networks, and societal barriers that can make or break a career trajectory. Demonstrating how disadvantages can accumulate over time, she goes beyond affirmative action to outline how individual workers can seize the initiative in remedying labor market inequalities.      

Rochelle Parks-Yancy is associate professor of management in the Jesse H. Jones School of Business at Texas Southern University.