The effect of workplace diversity management in a highly male-dominated culture

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to, first, examine gender differences in response to the presence of diversity management and in the level of organizational commitment, second, to investigate the influence of diversity management practices on organizational commitment, and third, to examine the relationships among gender, diversity management, organizational commitment, and job performance in a more highly male-dominated culture. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of the literature, this empirical study uses a survey and statistical analysis, including t-tests and regressions, to test the hypotheses. Findings – The major findings are as follows: first, female workers reported a more favorable perception of diversity management practices than did male workers. However, there was no difference between female and male workers in organizational commitment. Second, diversity management was positively and significantly related to organizational commitment. Finally, the results show that gender was not related to in-role performance, while diversity management and organizational commitment were positively related to in-role performance. Originality/value – The significance of this study lies in its investigation of the effect of diversity management on employees’ attitude and behavior and the gender differences in the perception of diversity management and organizational commitment in a highly male-dominated society. In addition, since Korean companies have become more performance oriented (House et al., 2004), finding the positive relationship between diversity management practices and job performance can also suggest one way for all organizations to increase their employees’ task performance for their continuous development.