Abstract
Orientation: South Africa had a distinctive diversity environment with unique diversity-related challenges. Researchers and practitioners required a validated diversity climate instrument that can be used to examine diversity management observations in a South African setting. Research purpose: The objective of this study was to address a research opportunity to source, test and validate a diversity climate instrument for the South African environment. Motivation for the study: Studies examining the conceptualisation, validation and measurement invariance of a diversity climate instrument for the South African environment do not yet exist. Research approach/design and method: A quantitative approach with cross-sectional design was utilised. A total of 323 respondents from a convenience sample formed part of this study. Statistical analysis included reliability, validity and measurement invariance computations. Main findings: An applicable one-dimensional diversity climate assessment instrument was identified from literature. This study found evidence indicating that the instrument was reliable and valid across white and African population groups. Practical/managerial implications: The assessment of diversity climate will be an accurate indication on how well an organisation is managing diversity. A validated measuring instrument will be a valuable managerial tool for any South African organisation, which can assist with future decision making. Contribution/value-add: This study was able to source and validate a diversity climate measuring instrument for a unique diversity setting, such as South Africa.
Highlights
Background and orientation for the studySouth Africa is considered as an intriguing environment for studying diversity, yet there is no validated instrument available to assess diversity climate
According to Pugh, Dietz, Brief and Wiley (2008), diversity climate can be considered as the shared employee perceptions of the policies and practices, indicating to what extent the organisation is committed to eliminating discrimination and to valuing diversity
We examined the changes in comparative fit index (CFI) (ΔCFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (ΔRMSEA) across the white and African sample groups
Summary
South Africa is considered as an intriguing environment for studying diversity, yet there is no validated instrument available to assess diversity climate. This is due especially to South Africa’s history of legalised segregation and recent legislative attempts to improve diversity (Jackson & Van de Vijver, 2018). McKay et al (2007) proposed that diversity climate should be considered as the shared employee perception of how committed the organisation is towards diversity regarding fair human resource policies and practices. According to Pugh, Dietz, Brief and Wiley (2008), diversity climate can be considered as the shared employee perceptions of the policies and practices, indicating to what extent the organisation is committed to eliminating discrimination and to valuing diversity. According to Hofhuis, Van der Zee and Otten (2012, p. 969), a diversity climate can be considered as ‘the degree to which an organisational climate facilitates the presence of cultural differences, and views this diversity as a positive asset’
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