From backlash to the “business case”: recasting Affirmative Action and diversity management

Abstract

Using in-depth interviews with diversity and human resource managers across the United States, I explore the role of affirmative action in current corporate diversity management strategies and practices. I find that while the business performance rationale for diversity management is prevalent, even among firms with affirmative action (AA) plans, firms differ in whether AA efforts are integrated or separate from diversity management. This choice of how to situate AA efforts impacts diversity goals and the adoption of particular types of diversity practices. Additionally, I find that the shift to define diversity as inclusion or all difference, rather than the traditional focus on race, ethnicity, and gender, has implications for how diversity managers enact practices.