The workplace is a focal point for debates about religion and public life. This article examines the question of religion at work, and how to fairly resolve the conflicts it generates. Specifically, it advocates for the use of alternative dispute resolution to address these conflicts. Alternative dispute resolution refers to a set of dispute processing methods, mainly arbitration and mediation. Unlike litigation, these procedures rely on the consent and cooperation of the parties involved. I argue that alternative dispute resolution is best conceived of as a desirable complement to the rule of law rather than a cheaper alternative. It conveys a distinctive approach to procedural fairness, which is attentive to individual circumstances, and it frames the relationship between disputants in a cooperative way. Alternative dispute resolution is thus a valuable tool for the accommodation of religious diversity in the professional world.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of why and how companies implement diversity management in practice, and of factors that may explain their approach.
Design/methodology/approach – This study takes inspiration from existing typologies depicting organisation-wide perspectives on diversity management, and articulates them in more detail by applying practice-driven indicators and highlighting possible contingent factors at play. The resulting framework is used to investigate diversity management in Italy. Data from a survey conducted among 90 companies and two focus groups with experts and managers are presented.
Findings – The most common approach among Italian companies focuses on addressing social expectations, seemingly shaped by isomorphic pressures and the need to secure legitimacy in their environment. Results also point to an understanding and practice of diversity management in Italy that also incorporate compliance and opportunity-oriented aspects, in an interplay between coercion and voluntarism that reflects local perspective and priorities.
Originality/value – This study makes an effort to address the paucity of studies linking approaches to managing diversity with managerial interventions and contextual factors. The research model connecting approaches with practice-driven aspects and explanatory factors shows descriptive and predictive potential, although it should be contextualised to the specific setting under investigation. This study also fills a research gap in Italy, where existing research primarily involves case studies and qualitative approaches and focuses on gender issues. Implications for research and practice drawn from this study can be useful to scholars and practitioners in other countries.
The purpose of this study was to explore the diversity climate in a large teaching military hospital by assessing the perceptions of employees regarding the organizational climate, including aspects of the climate related to ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and job level. All 3,176 eligible employees based in the medical center were invited to participate, 1,252 did so (RR = 40%). Participants were 37% minority, 57% females, 25% officer, 30% enlisted, and 45% civilian. Twenty-four percent were at the managerial level. Perceptions of the diversity climate were measured using the Diversity Survey Instrument (the reliability and validity of this instrument has been established in previous studies). Overall, 28% of the organization rated the overall climate as less than favorable on diversity issues; in particular, 16% rated the climate as less than favorable for ethnic minorities, 13% rated the climate as less than favorable for women, and 51% rated the climate as less favorable for people in lower job levels. Males had significantly more favorable perceptions toward organization climate, ethnicity climate, gender climate, and job level climate, than females. Whites had significantly more favorable perceptions toward the organization climate, ethnicity climate, job climate, and gender climate than non-Whites. There is a significant difference in the perceptions of civilians, officers, and enlisted staff members toward organization climate, based on salaries, with officers and civilians in the pay categories of 05-07 and GS 13-15, having the most favorable perceptions, and civilians in the paygrades of GS 5-8, W2-W3, WG 5-8, WG 9-12, and WD/WL 5-8, having the least favorable perceptions. Qualitative data also indicate that White males may feel left out or excluded from activities aimed at increasing acceptance of diversity in the organization. The formal overall diversity climate ratings on all dimensions measured are favorable (except job level and sexual orientation), but answers to questions about the informal climate reveal that there are problem areas that must be addressed. Such as, 45% rated the organization climate as less than favorable concerning hearing offensive remarks about women, 38% rated the organization climate as less than favorable for hearing offensive remarks about minorities, 81% agreed that some (employees) are given preferential treatment and 75% believe that favoritism is shown toward some job levels. Before health care organizations devise effective diversity management strategies, it is necessary to determine the diversity climate of the organization. Surveying employees' perceptions about management's current effectiveness allows an understanding of the needs and dissatisfactions of employees within different organizational subgroups. Using the results from the assessment of the diversity climate may allow for effective management strategies and policies.
AbstractPeople with disabilities (PWDs) defined as the world's largest minority stakeholder group continue to face significant barriers to labor market entry and corporate inclusion. The associated social and economic costs of supporting non‐working PWDs can be high and long term. Yet, their potential contribution and impact on human capital, firm productivity, and the innovative capacity of business entities are valuable but underutilized. The employment of PWDs has institutional and managerial implications for equitable opportunities, social mobility, and workplace diversity. This study assesses the quality of corporate disclosure on disability issues by firms in the United Kingdom, as a stepping stone for mainstreaming integration of PWDs into labor markets under the scope of corporate social accountability. We benchmark 274 UK sustainability reports against PWDs‐adapted indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, highlighting trends pertaining to disability employment. The findings suggest that corporate disclosures on the employment of PWDs are lacking. The implications for PWDs are highlighted considering firm employee and managerial policies and national and transnational regulatory frameworks, towards more meaningful reporting for better alignment between PWD expectations and firm practices.
The concept of diversity management refers to the business strategy adopted by organizations for the recruitment, retention, and inclusive development of individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Since then, due to the huge socio-cultural, political, and economic transformations, along with the globalization of trade and business models, on the one hand, and the migration flows of people across the globe, on the other, the degree of diversity within organizations has grown exponentially, diversity management has become strategic, and copious literature on this issue has developed over the last three decades. After a brief introduction to the wide field of diversity management, the paper focuses attention on the specific issues of gender diversity in the workplace. Particularly, the analysis concern women's access to the workplace and the related education and training paths, economic treatment, career opportunities, and the possibility of having in charge leadership roles in organizations. Subsequently, the gender gap is explored by presenting a snapshot of the situation in the European Union (EU) and Italy, also considering the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic. Then the attention is focused on the current Italian regulatory framework. Finally, some concluding remarks and a possible scenario are presented.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the discussions that took place and the key themes raised at a conference focusing on the role of the union equality representative, held at the British Trades Union Congress (TUC), London, in February 2009.Design/methodology/approachThe conference was structured around the contribution of a number of keynote speakers, reports back from project workers and question and answer sessions with delegates. The paper is based on observation, summary notes and conference documents.FindingsThe conference demonstrated the potential for a new type of union representative to help address inequality and discrimination in the workplace, with clear examples of early successes reported by unions participating in the project. However, it also highlighted barriers that may still remain until the equality rep has the same legal rights and status accorded to other union representatives in the UK.Originality/valueThis report highlights a key new initiative from the British trade union movement in addressing equality and diversity issues at work through the recruitment, training, organising and ongoing support of a network of specialised union equality representatives.
Introduction: workplace diversity, Muslim minorities and reflexive HRM : concepts, challenges and power-implications in context -- Perceptions of Islam and Muslim minorities -- Muslim minorities and Islam in HRM literature : identity labels and authoritative sensemaking -- Islamophobia, the impossible Muslim, and the reflexive potential of intersectionality -- The Muslim-makers : how Germany "islamizes" Turkish immigrants -- Muslim identities and dominant discourses at the workplace -- Constructing identity : implications for reflexive HRM -- Muslim identity in corporate South Africa : a reflexive approach -- Blinded by the news : how HRM practitioners risk being biased by stereotypes about Muslims -- Ethics, leadership and Muslim women -- Islamic ethics in secular organizations : exploring practises of 30 Muslim managers in the Alsace region of France -- Diversity discourses and corporate Canada : unveiling images of the Muslim woman at work -- Muslim women in senior management positions in Canada : advancement, perceptions of success, and strategies for inclusive HRM -- Conclusion: towards a more inclusive HRM theory and practice -- Index
