Corporate Sustainability Initiatives in Gender Equality: Organizational Practices Fostering Inclusiveness at Work in an Emerging-Market Context

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore through in-depth interviews the reasons why diversity management initiatives targeting women is an important strategic management issue for companies. Interviewed are the human resource managers of two of Turkey’s leading business groups: a manager from the HR department of one of Turkey’s largest banks and the deputy general manager of a non-governmental organization. The evidence suggests that these firms exercise carefully honed policies aimed at fostering gender equality and to that end engage in a variety of activities targeting various human resource functions. Their motives appear to be to reinforce their corporate image, enhance employee satisfaction, and reap such anticipated rewards as greater productivity and increased innovation capability. The importance of company leadership is underlined as an antecedent to the adoption of gender-equality focussed diversity management. The study may have important implications for building sustainable corporate brands, especially in the emerging-market context.