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Equality and Workplace Diversity (Social identity theory (Social identity…
Equality and Workplace Diversity
: Workplace diversity & the
need to manage it
What is diversity?
Term used to describe differences among individuals
Workplace diversity therefore refers to differences
among people at work
– In addition to the above differences, workforce diversity also encompass differences among workers in:
Religious beliefs, educational attainment, experience, family status, parental status pregnancy etc.
Age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical characteristics (height, weight etc.), mental and physical ability, personality, sexual orientation etc
Is it necessary to ‘manage’ diversity?
Not about merely meeting ‘legal’ or ‘moral’ obligations,but embedding the process in business strategy development
Changing composition of the labour market – attracting the right kind of talent and retaining such talent
More than managing cultural diversity, a necessary precondition for continuous innovation
Increasing diversity of consumers due to globalisation
Anti-discrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action legislation in Australia
One of 4 core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) – Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
Social identity theory
Social identity theory stipulates that individuals validate their social identity by favouring their ‘ingroup’ at the expense of ‘out-groups’
A shared social identity increases perceived
differences between individuals belonging to different social categories (i.e. between in- and
out-groups)
The success of organisational diversity initiatives
is dependent upon mitigating these perceived differences
Individuals perceive that it is ‘easier’ to communicate with other members of their in-group as they are more predictable, trustworthy, and more likely to reciprocate favours.
Social dilemmas of
workplace diversity
Individual participation
The success of organisational diversity
initiatives is dependent upon the degree to which its employees
embrace/resist them
– Formation of subgroups along social
categories may result in restricting the movement of information
Due to exclusion, employees may form
further informal subgroups resulting in subgroup competition
Managerial participation
A consequence of the dilemma of
individual participation
– Individuals may also seek out
managers that are similar to them
Those that do not ‘fit in’ often leave
resulting in a homogenous workforce
Organisational participation
Dependent upon how well the social dilemmas
relating to individual and managerial participation are addressed
– Focus on short-term costs and not long-term benefits
Creates barriers for selecting highly talented
candidates due to ill informed and short sighted views
Belief that diversity initiatives benefit society not
organisations implementing them, organisations bear the costs and accrue little benefit
Solutions for social
dilemmas
The management problem - overcoming individual & managerial
participation
– Developing superordinate goals which can only be achieved through
cooperation amongst diverse members
– Assisting individuals in realising that their self interest can be facilitated by
embracing organisational diversity initiatives
Creating a work environment that encourages and
facilitates communication between diverse employees
– Aligning individual interest with organisational diversity initiatives by
restructuring incentives
The public policy problem – overcoming
organisational participation
Not focusing on encouraging just
diversity, but ‘effective’ diversity
Educational curricula at
primary/secondary level
Avoiding the creation of legislation that
results in ‘protected classes’ of workers
– Instead developing legislation that
requires firms to develop and implement diversity initiatives that result in
sustainable success