Making Diversity Work: Building
Inclusive Organizations
Lecture 1 – The many faces of diversity
“Multidisciplinary approach to gain a multi-level understanding of how to promote
diversity.”m,,kgv
- Inequality and inclusion: (The seven headed monster of inequality)
Multilevel, interdisciplinary approach:
- Symbolical (humanity): How are woman and non-dominant groups and their societal
roles represented in the linguistic, narrative, and visual structures that shape the
organization. (For example: Hi students/ Hi ladies and gentlemen)
- Institutional (business, law and economics): What are effective responses to
inequality and exclusion at work on the institutional level?
- Experiential (psychology): How do woman 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?
- (Interactional: not necessary)
What is diversity?
Everything that distinguishes people from one another but most attention for dimensions on
which differences in outcomes and discrimination.
- Surface-level dissimilarity (relatively visible/readily detectable)
- Deep-level dissimilarity (relatively/invisible/underlying)
Why organization work with diversity:
1. Moral reasons
2. Societal reasons
- Emphasize good outcomes
- Focus on consequences of inequality
3. Compliance reasons
4. Synergetic reasons
- Relationship employee and organization
- Personal and business economic growth
- Employee satisfaction
- Harmony
5. Business-economic reasons (profit from inclusion/diversity -> mostly long term)
- Attract diverse employees
“Business case for diversity”
Which diversity matters:
Social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987)
Similarity-attractoin theory
,Perceived inclusion:
- Perception of employee that the group gives them a sense of authenticity and
belonging.
Antecedents of perceived inclusion:
- Feeling invisibly -> (negative for) sense of inclusion -> (positive for) job satisfaction
(negative for) works related stress (negative for)
Conclusion: (Sahin)
- 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 (not always found)
- Climate for inclusion not only benefits inclusion of “dissimilar” people, uta also
“similar” people.
Mechanisms of inclusions:
- Social categorization and intergroup bias
- Similarity attraction (vb. Subgroup formation0
- Minority stress and related processes (vb. Monitoring environment for cues of
belonging)
Multilevel perspective:
- Institutional
- Symbolic
- Experiential
Best-methods approach:
- Integrated
- Systematic
- Evidence-based
Lecture 2 - Identity Blindness or Awareness?
Manifestations of heteronormativity at work:
Diversity Approaches (Plaut et al., 2018):
, Identity-Blind Approach: Everyone is an individual first. We should focus on individual
differences and/or similarities
Identity-Conscious Approach: Everyone has a different social identity, which is valuable and
affects their lived experience
Colorblindness: minimizes the use and significance of ‘racial’ group membership and
suggests that race should not and does not matter.
Multiculturalism: ‘racial’ group membership matters and should be acknowledged,
respected, and even valued.
(Dis)advantages of identity blindness
Advantages identity blind perspective:
• Diminishes open conflict
• Minimizes discomfort
Disadvantages identity blind perspective:
• Assumes equal starting position
• Assumes unequal treatment in the past
• Ignores importance of privilege
• Ignores ethnic/socio-economic/gender differences
• Fails to capitalize on advantages of diversity
Implications of colorblind approach
Colorblindness:
• Has appeal due to its ego-protective features.
• Reduces sensitivity to racism.
• Can undermine interracial interactions.
• Can result in perceptions of and expectations for people of color that subvert institutional
diversity efforts.
Implications of multicultural approach
Multiculturalism:
• has appeal across different groups, but ethnic and racial minorities tend to endorse it more
than do majority groups.
• can both decrease and increase stereotyping but it decreases prejudice
• creates more positive outcomes but can backfire
Social identity contingencies (Purdie-Vaughns et al., 2018)
• The range of vulnerabilities and opportunities a person expects to face based on the
settings’ response to one or more of the person’s social identities.
• May be physical, ideological, and social.
Identity Safety:
Inclusive Organizations
Lecture 1 – The many faces of diversity
“Multidisciplinary approach to gain a multi-level understanding of how to promote
diversity.”m,,kgv
- Inequality and inclusion: (The seven headed monster of inequality)
Multilevel, interdisciplinary approach:
- Symbolical (humanity): How are woman and non-dominant groups and their societal
roles represented in the linguistic, narrative, and visual structures that shape the
organization. (For example: Hi students/ Hi ladies and gentlemen)
- Institutional (business, law and economics): What are effective responses to
inequality and exclusion at work on the institutional level?
- Experiential (psychology): How do woman 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?
- (Interactional: not necessary)
What is diversity?
Everything that distinguishes people from one another but most attention for dimensions on
which differences in outcomes and discrimination.
- Surface-level dissimilarity (relatively visible/readily detectable)
- Deep-level dissimilarity (relatively/invisible/underlying)
Why organization work with diversity:
1. Moral reasons
2. Societal reasons
- Emphasize good outcomes
- Focus on consequences of inequality
3. Compliance reasons
4. Synergetic reasons
- Relationship employee and organization
- Personal and business economic growth
- Employee satisfaction
- Harmony
5. Business-economic reasons (profit from inclusion/diversity -> mostly long term)
- Attract diverse employees
“Business case for diversity”
Which diversity matters:
Social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987)
Similarity-attractoin theory
,Perceived inclusion:
- Perception of employee that the group gives them a sense of authenticity and
belonging.
Antecedents of perceived inclusion:
- Feeling invisibly -> (negative for) sense of inclusion -> (positive for) job satisfaction
(negative for) works related stress (negative for)
Conclusion: (Sahin)
- 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 (not always found)
- Climate for inclusion not only benefits inclusion of “dissimilar” people, uta also
“similar” people.
Mechanisms of inclusions:
- Social categorization and intergroup bias
- Similarity attraction (vb. Subgroup formation0
- Minority stress and related processes (vb. Monitoring environment for cues of
belonging)
Multilevel perspective:
- Institutional
- Symbolic
- Experiential
Best-methods approach:
- Integrated
- Systematic
- Evidence-based
Lecture 2 - Identity Blindness or Awareness?
Manifestations of heteronormativity at work:
Diversity Approaches (Plaut et al., 2018):
, Identity-Blind Approach: Everyone is an individual first. We should focus on individual
differences and/or similarities
Identity-Conscious Approach: Everyone has a different social identity, which is valuable and
affects their lived experience
Colorblindness: minimizes the use and significance of ‘racial’ group membership and
suggests that race should not and does not matter.
Multiculturalism: ‘racial’ group membership matters and should be acknowledged,
respected, and even valued.
(Dis)advantages of identity blindness
Advantages identity blind perspective:
• Diminishes open conflict
• Minimizes discomfort
Disadvantages identity blind perspective:
• Assumes equal starting position
• Assumes unequal treatment in the past
• Ignores importance of privilege
• Ignores ethnic/socio-economic/gender differences
• Fails to capitalize on advantages of diversity
Implications of colorblind approach
Colorblindness:
• Has appeal due to its ego-protective features.
• Reduces sensitivity to racism.
• Can undermine interracial interactions.
• Can result in perceptions of and expectations for people of color that subvert institutional
diversity efforts.
Implications of multicultural approach
Multiculturalism:
• has appeal across different groups, but ethnic and racial minorities tend to endorse it more
than do majority groups.
• can both decrease and increase stereotyping but it decreases prejudice
• creates more positive outcomes but can backfire
Social identity contingencies (Purdie-Vaughns et al., 2018)
• The range of vulnerabilities and opportunities a person expects to face based on the
settings’ response to one or more of the person’s social identities.
• May be physical, ideological, and social.
Identity Safety:
