Co‐Constructing the Illusion of Progression: How Boundary Blurring and Affirming Reproduce Social Exclusion in Elite Professions

Abstract

Social exclusion is a persistent problem in elite professions. While scholarship has emphasized structural and cultural barriers, less is known about the relational practices and mechanisms through which social exclusion is sustained. Drawing on interviews with 84 lawyers, paralegals, and managers in elite UK law firms, we develop a conceptual model of how the blurring and affirming of social and symbolic boundaries between higher‐status and lower‐status groups reproduces social exclusion. We show how both groups blur and affirm boundaries across three domains: professional work, professional space, and systems of professional advancement. Boundary blurring makes symbolic boundaries more permeable, positioning lower‐status actors as prospective professionals, while boundary affirming maintains social boundaries around professional membership. We identify and theorize the illusion of progression as a relational mechanism emerging from intertwined blurring and affirming, constructing lower‐status roles as pathways into the profession even though progression is rare. The illusion perpetuates liminality by sustaining hope, individualizing failure and undermining lower‐status groups' collective challenge to social exclusion. Our findings advance understanding of the relational mechanism through which social exclusion persists in elite professions, show how boundary blurring can sustain rather than threaten status distinctions, and help explain why organizational diversity and inclusion efforts have produced little substantive change.