Diversity Management Discourse Research Articles

Unveiling Power Dynamics: Diversity Interpretations, Management Practices, and Inclusion Perceptions in the Workplace

The current diversity management literature highlights a lack of empirical investigations into nuanced diversity characteristics within specific contexts, with a predominant focus on the USA, Europe, and Asia. This article addresses these gaps by exploring the intricate relationship between interpretations of workforce diversity dimensions and ensuing diversity management practices, shaping perceptions of inclusion or exclusion. Workplace diversity is viewed subjectively, influenced by contextual factors like industry and location. A case study was conducted in June 2022 within a Japanese automotive company, gathering qualitative data through techniques such as semi-structured in-depth interviews and non-participant observations were made during two guided visits. AtlasTi was utilized for the analysis of results. Findings reveal that socio-economic differences' interpretation is swayed by power imbalances in labor relationships. Diversity management practices aligned with the dominant group exacerbate inequality among demographic groups, establishing metaphorical «glass ceilings» for minorities and fostering exclusion perceptions. Considering the case study’s limitations, the research contributes to the diversity management discourse, prompting a reevaluation of practices to mitigate unintentional inequality perpetuation in the workplace.

Online corporate communication of diversity and inclusion: washing as aspirational talk

PurposeThe article aims to investigate how washing practices focused on appeasing sceptics of diversity work in for-profit organizations play out in corporate online communication of diversity and inclusion efforts, and how these enable communication to a wide audience that includes social equity advocates.Design/methodology/approachOnline corporate communication data of diversity and inclusion themes were compiled from the websites of eight Swedish-based multinational corporations. The data included content from the companies’ official websites and annual reports and sustainability reports as well as diversity and inclusion-themed blog posts. A thematic analysis was conducted on the website content.FindingsThe study showcases how tensions between conflicting external demands are navigated by keeping the communication open to several interpretations and thereby achieving multivocality. In the studied corporate texts on diversity and inclusion, this is achieved by alternating between elements catering to a business case audience and those that appeal to a social justice audience, with some procedures managing to appease both audiences at the same time.Originality/valueThe article complements previously described forms of washing by introducing an additional type of washing – business case washing – an articulation of the business case rhetoric that characterizes the diversity management discourse. While much has been written about washing to satisfy advocates of social change and equity, washing to appease shareholders and boardroom members, who are focused on profit and economic growth, has received less attention. The article suggests that online corporate communication on diversity and inclusion, by appeasing diverse audiences, can be seen as aspirational talk.

Modelling diversity: cultural district policies in Doha and Singapore

ABSTRACT Over the last twenty years, cities around the world have seen the multiplication of cultural district projects, which aim to concentrate cultural organisations in a circumscribed urban space, or to label a neighbourhood’s cultural scene. This paper examines the adoption and adaptation of a globally circulating cultural policy model as an instrument of urban governance. Moving away from the notion of policy transfer, understood as a neutral and unidirectional process through which successful culture-led development models spread to other contexts, I show how local actors mobilise external references to position themselves in a transnational cultural policymaking field, and construct their city as a model. I compare the multi-scalar politics of urban modelling in Doha and Singapore, where globally circulating culture-led development models have been introduced not only as instruments of economic growth, but also as diversity management tools. On the one hand, cultural districts serve as discursive nation building/branding instruments to project an imagined identity locally and internationally. On the other hand, urban elites can mobilise cultural districts to make strategic shifts in the diversity management discourse, through an engagement with the urban environment, and the co-optation civil society actors at multiple scales.

Women CEOs in Mexico: gendered local/global divide and the diversity management discourse

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to add to the existing research on critical perspectives on diversity management (DM). Specifically, this study examines the narratives of women chief executive officers (CEOs) from different countries of origin to understand how they enact the DM discourse by drawing on their past and present experiences at US multinational corporations (MNCs) located in Mexico.Design/methodology/approachThis study, based on six open-ended interviews with local and expatriate women CEOs who work in MNCs situated in Mexico, used a sensemaking approach to analyze their narratives. The theoretical foundation of the study is based on decolonial feminist theory, which is used to analyze the hierarchical binary between Anglo-Saxon/European woman and the Mexican/Latin American woman with respect to the discourse of DM.FindingsThis study found that the dominant discourse used by women CEOs, expats and nationals was a business case for diversity. Female CEOs represent MNCs in favorable terms, compared to those of local companies, despite the nuances in the antagonistic representations in their narratives. This study also found that the women CEOs’ narratives perpetuated a discourse of “otherness” that created a hierarchy between Anglo-Saxons (US/MNCs’ culture) and Latin Americans (Mexican/local companies’ culture).Originality/valueThis study contributes to critical studies on DM by analyzing diverse forms of power involving gender, race/ethnicity and organizational hierarchy. The use of decolonial feminist theory to examine MNCs is a novel approach to understanding women’s identities and the power differences between local/foreign contexts and global/local businesses. This study also discusses the implications of its findings for women in business careers and concludes with a call for more research within the global South (Latin America).

POLITIK MULTIKULTURALISME DALAM KONTEKS MASYARAKAT MAJEMUK

This article discusses the reality of diversity by using the concept of "multiculturalism". In political projects, multiculturalism includes the constitutional-based civil society movement fighting for equality and justice. In the context of Indonesia, Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution are the basis of a multicultural political constitution. The discussion on constitutional-based multiculturalism politics then becomes a kind of theory to understand the practice of multiculturalism in the context of North Sulawesi. In the midst of the outbreak of the practice of identity politicization, the civil society movement that pays attention to the politics of multiculturalism is important to be used as an important issue in the diversity management discourse at the local leve

Diversity Management: A Critical Review and Agenda for the Future

Although a widespread management approach, diversity management is far from being a well-defined and unambiguous one. This article outlines how this management practice emerged, and how it is enacted, and it identifies and critically discusses the two crucial areas of dissent or ambivalence within the diversity management discourse: first, the dimensionality of diversity management, and second, its legitimacy. The first issue addresses the prioritization of certain dimensions, the difficulty of clearly demarcating one dimension from another, and the unequal consideration of specific manifestations of each dimension. Taking into account the fact that everyone embodies at least one manifestation of every dimension of diversity, the aspect of intersectionality also belongs to the dimensionality of diversity. The legitimacy issue includes legitimate starting points, operating ranges, and desired outcomes of diversity management practices. The article concludes by looking toward possible future directions in diversity management research and diversity management practice.

Translating Culture in the Global Workplace: Language, Communication, and Diversity Management

In the highly multicultural workplace of today’s multinational corporations (MNCs), translating across different cultures becomes a crucial issue. But what precisely counts as culture in the global workplace of the MNC? What does it exactly mean to be able to translate across cultures under the regimes of evaluation adopted by MNCs? In this article, I consider these questions through a discussion of the corporate discourse of diversity management, in which the cultural diversity of the workforce is understood as a resource for maximizing profit. Based on a critical review of diversity management literature and a study on Korean managers working for non-Korean MNCs in Singapore, I first show how diversity management’s claim of openness and inclusivity actually works to reproduce unequal relations in the workplace. I then argue that attention to the politics of translation, where the ideological nature of evaluations of cultural (in)commensurability is highlighted, is needed for applied linguists’ engagement with language and communication in the multicultural workplace.

Польский вопрос в дискурсе российской дореволюционной общественной мысли

An attempt is made to reveal the key elements of the discourse of ethnic diversity management in Russian pre-revolutionary social thought. Numerous texts published by representatives of various sociopolitical views (Westerners, Slavophiles, liberals, conservatives, populists and socialists) devoted to the description and assessment of the policy of the Russian government in relation to national regions in the period under review are analyzed. The study was conducted on the basis of the analysis of mainly English-language scientific literature. Poland was chosen as a model region, that is, the main attention in the article is focused on the Polish question. The choice of this national outskirts is due to the following: on the one hand, it compelled the most close attention of representatives of the Russian pre-revolutionary social movement, and on the other, this territory was the place of testing of various incorporation practices by the Russian government. The study showed that, despite different political views and ideological platforms, Russian intellectuals clearly defined the intentions of the authorities, which consisted in the gradual integration of the periphery into the common imperial space, first on the administrative-legal, and then the cultural field. It is shown that the undulating nature of this process was absolutely opportunistic.

English

Research has shown that the philosophy behind diversity studies emerged from the Global North. This also strengthens the assumption that the current diversity management theorizing is mainly Anglo-centric which gives priority to the Global North, and reflects neoliberal structuring. In view of this critique on the implementation of Western theories in the Global South, this study examines two key Western theories within the diversity management discourse to critically examine Multinational Corporation’s (MNCs’) diversity management constructs in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on Nigeria. This is to explore the relevance of Western theory in the Nigerian context, and to further identify and evaluate similarities and differences between MNCs diversity management processes in the Global North and Global South. Key words: MNCs, western theories, Nigeria, global north, diversity management.

Trade-offs and disappearing acts: shifting societal discourses of diversity in Canada over three decades

In the past few decades, research on minority and disadvantaged groups in the workplace has focused on the discourse of diversity management; however, most of this research has emphasized individual and organizational discourse rather than broader, societal contexts. Our critical analysis of societal/macro level discourse explores the discursive constructions of equity and diversity in Canada, and provides original findings on how these discourses have been produced in the public sphere. We apply quantitative and qualitative textual analysis to articles published from 1986 to 2014 in The Globe and Mail, a nationally distributed newspaper, and the Canadian Employment Equity Act Annual Reports from 1988 to 2013. This paper describes a range of discursive patterns including those focusing on compliance-based equity oriented toward social justice as well as voluntary ‘diversity management’ grounded in corporate self-interest. It demonstrates important trade-offs in who is protected and promoted through the contrasting discourses, and in the types of actors legitimizing these discourses. We provide detailed evidence of these patterns by applying Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action, and conclude with a discussion of implications for practice and for theory that are suggested in our analysis.

(Mis)managing diversity: exploring the dangers of diversity management orthodoxy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to challenge the dominance of the mainstream discourse and practice of diversity management (DM) by identifying and problematizing three distinct but related issues that it encompasses: first, its tendency to displace all alternative approaches; second, its general neglect of the social-historical context and third, its almost exclusive focus on the business case rationale for supporting diversity. Design/methodology/approach – Employing ethnographic research methods, the empirical material was collected in an international manufacturing corporation based in Sweden. It consists of three different, but interconnected approaches: archival research, interviews and observations. Findings – The paper shows that in neglecting power, identity, intersectionality and the changing socio-historical context of diversity, a well-meaning corporate diversity programme tended to obscure ethnic and age-related disadvantages at work. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this research relate largely to its dependence on a single case study and the limited focus on diversity as it affected able-bodied, white male immigrant workers. A broader study of the multiplicity of types of discrimination and ways in which diversity is managed in a range of countries and organizations could facilitate a more in-depth exploration of these issues and arguments. Originality/value – Although not entirely new, the three arguments that have been drawn upon to discuss, analyse and illustrate DM through our data have rarely been brought together in one theoretical and empirical study.

Exploring national diversity and identity regulation: managerial discourses and material practices in a transnational company

The paper sets out to interpret the concept of national and linguistic identity/diversity in the perspective of organisational power and control, by analysing both the managerial discourses and the material practices. We particularly intend to examine how the management of national diversity comprises a means for shaping the perception of collective identities and regulating the organisational behaviours of minority groups. For this purpose, a case study of a large Italian-French company is discussed: the analysis is based on a qualitative investigation conducted in terms of grounded theory. We further show how such managerial language and practices model and form individual and collective identity, reinforcing the establishment of precise criteria of inclusion and exclusion from the organisational life. The dominating group tries to affect the sense of group identity/diversity in order to establish models of action with a view to maintaining the status quo. In this respect the discourse and praxis of diversity management are seen as a mechanism of catalysis acting on national differences serving to reinforce the collective identity building processes and enhance the existing power relations.

Metadiscursive regimes of diversity in a multinational corporation

AbstractInformed by recent work on the commodification of language and identity, this article offers a critique of the neoliberal corporate discourse of “diversity management,” in which the diversity of the workforce is conceived as a resource for maximizing profit. Through a close analysis of the language ideologies deployed in an interaction between three mid-level managers at a multinational corporation and a researcher, this article shows how the discourse of diversity management, constituting a metadiscursive regime, works to rationalize and justify the inequalities of the global workplace through the specific ways in which older and newer discourses of language and identity are juxtaposed. The findings emphasize how sociolinguistic research may contribute to a deeper understanding of the conditions of work in the new economy by identifying language as an indispensable part of the mechanism that sustains processes of control. (Metadiscursive regime, diversity management, neoliberalism, work, language ideology)*

Diversity management: The treatment of HIV-positive employees

Socio-demographic dimensions such as age, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity are commonly included in diversity studies. With a view to helping Asian hospitality managers to manage HIV-positive employees in their workplaces through diversity management (DM) theory, this research extends the boundaries of previous diversity studies by considering Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection as a diverse characteristic. Both quantitative and qualitative primary data were collected from purposively selected Asian hospitality managers through postal questionnaire and follow-up telephone interviews. Transformed raw data were analysed using summary statistics and template analysis. Asian hospitality managers agreed that DM would be appropriate in the management of HIV-positive employees and that it could generate substantial benefits for employees and employers. However, they believe that the successful adoption and implementation of DM is not easy; it requires training and, ideally, the recruitment of experienced directors. Nevertheless, Asian hospitality managers are confident that implementing DM to manage HIV-positive employees can enhance tolerance, improve understanding and promote equality. The purposive sampling technique and the small number of respondents have impacted the external validity of the study. However, this exploratory study initiates an equality discussion to include HIV-positive employees in DM discourse beyond antidiscrimination legislation. It also supplements the sparse literature addressing HIV-positive employees in the Asian hospitality workplace. Asian hospitality managers are advised to understand and employ DM to treat HIV-positive employees fairly to overcome hospitality workplace marginalisation, discrimination and stigmatisation.

Exploring the Boundaries between Diversity Discourses and Practices, Identity Regulation and Workforce Control

The main goal of the paper is to interpret the concepts of national and linguistic identity/diversity in the perspective of ideological control, by analysing both the managerial discourses and the work practices. We have studied how identity and diversity discourses reflect existing managerial practices and underlying power relations, and how they reproduce those managerial practices and power relations. For this purpose, a case study of a large Italian-French company will be presented: it is one of the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of regional aircraft. The analysis is based on a qualitative investigation conducted in terms of grounded theory. We further show how such managerial language and practices tends to act on individual and collective identity, having an impact on organizational action in terms of ideological control. The dominating group (French management) tries to affect the sense of group identity/diversity in order to establish models of action for the organizational actors in a logic of maintaining the status quo. Under this respect, the discourse and praxis of diversity management are functional to reinforcing a binary vision of the type “in-group versus out-group” which reinforces the stereotypes and consolidates the “sense of the other” with respect to a category of “normality.”

Taming diversity: an exploratory study on the travel of a management fashion

PurposeOriginating from the USA in the early 1990s, diversity management has been “imported” to Europe to become a fashionable practice in many business organizations. The aim of this paper is to provide further insight into whether and how the diversity management discourse challenges and replaces existing local discourses on equality and diversity, and how diversity management is given content and meaning in a specific local context.Design/methodology/approachStatements on diversity, diversity management and equality on both the Dutch and the international websites of ten leading companies in the Netherlands are analyzed.FindingsThe analysis shows that translations of diversity management may in fact not actually replace existing local discourses, but rather leave the existing local discourse more or less intact and alter the original diversity management discourse to fit into this local discourse.Originality/valueThis paper offers some important lessons for management practice.

Queer theory and diversity management: Reading codes of conduct from a queer perspective

AbstractQueer theory is a relatively new theoretical approach in organizational discourse that we think can uncover power relations and normative and hierarchical processes in diversity management discourse. ‘Heteronormativity’ and ‘performativity’, core concepts of queer theory, critique categorization and fixed identities and thereby problematize and broaden perspectives on current diversity management discourse, especially those associated with organizational constructions of diversity dimensions. In this article, we focus on the discursive and intersectional construction of subject positions and identities within organizations by drawing upon a queer theoretical framework to analyze three companies' codes of conduct that claim to create an inclusive work environment. The deconstructive analysis of these discursive artifacts emphasizes the intersectional power dynamics of and between the categories of sex, gender and sexuality, and can be taken as a point of departure for questioning the heteronormative arrangements of diversity management practices.

Queer theory and diversity management: Reading codes of conduct from a queer perspective

AbstractQueer theory is a relatively new theoretical approach in organizational discourse that we think can uncover power relations and normative and hierarchical processes in diversity management discourse. ‘Heteronormativity’ and ‘performativity’, core concepts of queer theory, critique categorization and fixed identities and thereby problematize and broaden perspectives on current diversity management discourse, especially those associated with organizational constructions of diversity dimensions. In this article, we focus on the discursive and intersectional construction of subject positions and identities within organizations by drawing upon a queer theoretical framework to analyze three companies' codes of conduct that claim to create an inclusive work environment. The deconstructive analysis of these discursive artifacts emphasizes the intersectional power dynamics of and between the categories of sex, gender and sexuality, and can be taken as a point of departure for questioning the heteronormative arrangements of diversity management practices.

What Is Third‐Wave Feminism? A New Directions Essay

What Is Third‐Wave Feminism? A New Directions Essay

Diversity management discourse meets queer theory

PurposeThe paper's aim is to examine how diversity management discourse reproduces heteronormative essentialist notions of identity in organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a critical analysis of diversity management discourse that draws upon concepts, frames and the language of queer theory and insights from social identity construction to offer an alternative approach to reconceptualising diversity management. The key question of the paper is: what are the conceptions of identity underpinning the diversity management discourse and how do they reproduce heteronormativity?FindingsThe paper unveils the reproduction of binaries in diversity management discourse. Possible counter strategies from queer theory are proposed to alter the diversity management discourse.Originality/valueThis paper offers a first reading of diversity management discourse against the grain from a queer perspective and offers possible points of departure for altering diversity management discourse.