The role of leadership in workplace diversity management

Abstract

Although the issue of workplace diversity management has attracted the attention of many researchers and practitioners, studies on the role of leadership in workplace diversity management are still limited especially in developing nations, Nigeria inclusive. The objective of this paper is to examine the role of leadership in workplace diversity management and to contribute to the field of cross-cultural management. The paper utilizes the method of qualitative analysis and synthesis of scientific literature as it relies on secondary data collected from documentations through published and unpublished books, journal articles, and conference proceedings. It also relies on the standpoint theory that a group’s experiences create a general and permanent perspective of an immense situation, but without personal experiences one’s standpoint cannot become truly comprehensible. The paper therefore concludes that diversity management skills are required by every organization in order to harness the resources that the employees have brought to an organization. It is the active and conscious development of strategic management processes of accepting and using differences and similarities as means of adding value to an organization.