Reasons Matter: Reactions to Diversity Policy Rationales

Abstract

Diversity policies are often necessary for organizations to meet the challenges of an increasingly diverse workforce, and policies send important messages to the employees. However, the reasons for having a diversity policy can vary from moral necessity to business advantage. These two rationales represent different value assertions. How do these diversity polices rationales affect individuals in the organization, their willingness to implement a policy, their perceptions of fairness and their attitudes? In this study 685 Norwegians participated in a scenario based experiment. We found that participants given the moral and business rationale combined, scored higher for intention to implement a diversity policy. We controlled for age, education previous experience, and found that women, more educated individuals and people with positive contact with the diverse group targeted in the policy, were more likely to implement the policy, perceive it as more fair and had more positive attitudes toward the policy. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.