Making Diversity Work:
Building Inclusive Organizations
Lecture 1 – The Many Faces of Diversity
Overview of course
- Theory and research regarding the benefits and challenges of building diverse
and inclusive organizations.
- Multidisciplinary approach to gain a multi-level understanding of how to promote
diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the:
• Institutional level
• Symbolic level
• Experiential level
Inequality
- Is a seven headed monster, so it needs a multi-level, interdisciplinary approach
Multi-level, interdisciplinary approach
- Symbolical
• How are women and non-dominant groups and their societal roles represented
in the linguistic, narrative and visual structures that shape the organization?
- Institutional
• What are effective responses to inequality and exclusion at work on the
institutional level?
- Experiential
• How do women and non-dominant group members experience the many forms
of inequality in the workplace? How do these groups experience institutional
measures aimed at correcting these inequalities?
- These levels interact with each other
- So, we need an integrated and evidence-based approach
What is diversity?
- Everything that distinguishes people from one another.
BUT
- Most attention for dimensions on which differences in outcomes and
discrimination occur.
Diversity dimensions
- Surface-level dissimilarity (relatively visible / readily detectable)
- Deep-level dissimilarity (relatively invisible / underlying)
AND
- Diversity on relationship-oriented attributes (for example: Gender, Age,
Personality, Values)
- Diversity on task-oriented attributes (for example: Education level, Formal
credentials and titles, Task knowledge, Experience)
- Galinsky and colleagues:
• Diversity present in groups, communities, and nations
• Diversity acquired through individuals’ personal experiences
,Which diversity matters?
- Matters for what?
Why organizations work with diversity?
1. Moral reasons
• Equal treatment
• Equal opportunity
• Equal outcomes
2. Societal reasons
• Emphasize good outcomes
• Focus on consequences of inequality
(practical outcomes)
3. Compliance
• Organizations in the Netherlands need a discrimination free workplace (anti-
discrimination policy), it’s mandatory.
4. Synergetic reasons
• Relationship employee and organization
• Personal and business economic growth
• Employee satisfaction
• Harmony among employees
Synergie -> een situatie waarin het effect van een samenwerking groter is dan
elk van de samenwerkende partijen afzonderlijk zou kunnen bereiken.
5. Business-economic reasons
• Attract diverse employees
• Increase service to diverse populations
• Increase well-being, retention of employees
• Improve relations between employees
• Increase creativity and productivity
• Reduce lawsuits/legal challenges
• Enhance reputation
The “business-case” for diversity
Which diversity matters?
- Matters for what?
- Not self-evident that diversity leads to better performance and innovation.
• Social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987)
• Similarity-attraction theory (Byrne, 1971)
• Information-elaboration processes (o.a. Oldham & Cummings, 1998)
➔ Climate for inclusion = key
Diversity -> team performance
,Climate for inclusion:
- Fair and unbiased treatment of employees
- Open toward and values differences between employees
- Includes all employees in decision making
Consequences of perceived inclusion
- Sense of inclusion (how am I treated here?)
- Climate of inclusion (how are people treated in this organization?)
Perceived inclusion:
- Perception of employee that the group gives them a sense of authenticity and
belonging.
Antecedents of perceived inclusion:
Inclusive climate as a buffer
, (Sahin, Van der Toorn, Jansen, Boezeman, & Ellemers, 2019)
➔ je hoeft de analyses uit het artikel niet allemaal te begrijpen, maar vooral de
conclusies en resultaten van de studie.
Conclusion
- Climate for inclusion buffers negative effects of feelings of dissimilarity on
perceived inclusion.
- Deep-level dissimilarity was more important than surface-level dissimilarity for
social inclusion at work (but not always found).
- Climate for inclusion not only benefits inclusion of “dissimilar” people, but also
“similar” people
• Recent studies on gender-inclusive bathrooms in organizations -> signal of
“egalitarian social environment”
Mechanisms of inclusion
- Social categorization and intergroup bias
- Similarity-attraction (e.g., subgroup formation)
- Minority stress and related processes (e.g., monitoring environment for cues of
belonging)
From best practices to best methods
- Diversity and inclusion policies should be:
• Integrated (covering the full HR cycle)
• Systematically developed and implemented
• Evidence-based (based on scientific insights)
Building Inclusive Organizations
Lecture 1 – The Many Faces of Diversity
Overview of course
- Theory and research regarding the benefits and challenges of building diverse
and inclusive organizations.
- Multidisciplinary approach to gain a multi-level understanding of how to promote
diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the:
• Institutional level
• Symbolic level
• Experiential level
Inequality
- Is a seven headed monster, so it needs a multi-level, interdisciplinary approach
Multi-level, interdisciplinary approach
- Symbolical
• How are women and non-dominant groups and their societal roles represented
in the linguistic, narrative and visual structures that shape the organization?
- Institutional
• What are effective responses to inequality and exclusion at work on the
institutional level?
- Experiential
• How do women and non-dominant group members experience the many forms
of inequality in the workplace? How do these groups experience institutional
measures aimed at correcting these inequalities?
- These levels interact with each other
- So, we need an integrated and evidence-based approach
What is diversity?
- Everything that distinguishes people from one another.
BUT
- Most attention for dimensions on which differences in outcomes and
discrimination occur.
Diversity dimensions
- Surface-level dissimilarity (relatively visible / readily detectable)
- Deep-level dissimilarity (relatively invisible / underlying)
AND
- Diversity on relationship-oriented attributes (for example: Gender, Age,
Personality, Values)
- Diversity on task-oriented attributes (for example: Education level, Formal
credentials and titles, Task knowledge, Experience)
- Galinsky and colleagues:
• Diversity present in groups, communities, and nations
• Diversity acquired through individuals’ personal experiences
,Which diversity matters?
- Matters for what?
Why organizations work with diversity?
1. Moral reasons
• Equal treatment
• Equal opportunity
• Equal outcomes
2. Societal reasons
• Emphasize good outcomes
• Focus on consequences of inequality
(practical outcomes)
3. Compliance
• Organizations in the Netherlands need a discrimination free workplace (anti-
discrimination policy), it’s mandatory.
4. Synergetic reasons
• Relationship employee and organization
• Personal and business economic growth
• Employee satisfaction
• Harmony among employees
Synergie -> een situatie waarin het effect van een samenwerking groter is dan
elk van de samenwerkende partijen afzonderlijk zou kunnen bereiken.
5. Business-economic reasons
• Attract diverse employees
• Increase service to diverse populations
• Increase well-being, retention of employees
• Improve relations between employees
• Increase creativity and productivity
• Reduce lawsuits/legal challenges
• Enhance reputation
The “business-case” for diversity
Which diversity matters?
- Matters for what?
- Not self-evident that diversity leads to better performance and innovation.
• Social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987)
• Similarity-attraction theory (Byrne, 1971)
• Information-elaboration processes (o.a. Oldham & Cummings, 1998)
➔ Climate for inclusion = key
Diversity -> team performance
,Climate for inclusion:
- Fair and unbiased treatment of employees
- Open toward and values differences between employees
- Includes all employees in decision making
Consequences of perceived inclusion
- Sense of inclusion (how am I treated here?)
- Climate of inclusion (how are people treated in this organization?)
Perceived inclusion:
- Perception of employee that the group gives them a sense of authenticity and
belonging.
Antecedents of perceived inclusion:
Inclusive climate as a buffer
, (Sahin, Van der Toorn, Jansen, Boezeman, & Ellemers, 2019)
➔ je hoeft de analyses uit het artikel niet allemaal te begrijpen, maar vooral de
conclusies en resultaten van de studie.
Conclusion
- Climate for inclusion buffers negative effects of feelings of dissimilarity on
perceived inclusion.
- Deep-level dissimilarity was more important than surface-level dissimilarity for
social inclusion at work (but not always found).
- Climate for inclusion not only benefits inclusion of “dissimilar” people, but also
“similar” people
• Recent studies on gender-inclusive bathrooms in organizations -> signal of
“egalitarian social environment”
Mechanisms of inclusion
- Social categorization and intergroup bias
- Similarity-attraction (e.g., subgroup formation)
- Minority stress and related processes (e.g., monitoring environment for cues of
belonging)
From best practices to best methods
- Diversity and inclusion policies should be:
• Integrated (covering the full HR cycle)
• Systematically developed and implemented
• Evidence-based (based on scientific insights)
