David McGuire and Mammed Bagher
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on diversity training and examine the effect of power, privilege and politics on diversity in organisations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on diversity training and examine the effect of power, privilege and politics on diversity in organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper examining the arguments in favour and against diversity training in organisations. It identifies the presence of dominant groups in society leading to the marginalisation and oppression of minority diverse groups. It introduces the papers to the special issue under the three themes of: organisational impacts and outcomes; identify and self‐presentation and resistance to diversity.
Findings
The value of diversity training to promoting inclusivity, equality and fairness in organisations is underlined as is the importance of the human resource development community adopting a more proactive role in addressing the issue of diversity through research and course cirricula.
Originality/value
The paper introduces this special issue in “Diversity training in organisations” by examining the background concepts and providing an overview of the contributions to the issue.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to empirically illustrate how human resource development (HRD) resists and omits issues of diversity in academic programs, textbooks, and research;…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically illustrate how human resource development (HRD) resists and omits issues of diversity in academic programs, textbooks, and research; analyze the research on HRD and diversity over a ten‐year period; discuss HRD's resistance to diversity; and offer some recommendations for a more authentic integration of diversity into HRD research, teaching, and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes common HRD textbooks and refereed diversity research over a ten‐year period to examine the amount of HRD research is being conducted in the area of diversity.
Findings
The paper found that HRD overwhelmingly omits diversity topics, in contradiction to its claims of “diversity” as a legitimate part of the field. The paper concludes that HRD's omission of diversity is a form of resistance since fundamentally addressing diversity threatens HRD's performative frameworks and practices.
Practical implications
The paper has implications for scholars and practitioners who are interested in not only producing more robust diversity scholarship, but also improving practice. The paper challenges HRD researchers to more systematically examine diversity and practitioners to be more cautious consumers of diversity practices.
Originality/value
The paper is original in its premise that HRD resists diversity and in its illustration of how glaring omissions of diversity are in HRD scholarship.
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Keywords
This paper seeks to identify, examine, and discuss the unique challenges for lesbians who serve in leadership positions in corporate America.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to identify, examine, and discuss the unique challenges for lesbians who serve in leadership positions in corporate America.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon a multi‐disciplinary framework of management, diversity, feminist, and leadership literature, the paper critically examines the myriad of pressures exerted upon all women in leadership positions, and then identifies the pressures that are specific and unique for lesbians.
Findings
There are pressures that are unique for lesbian leaders. These pressures include negotiating the heterosexism of the organization; invisibility versus visibility, and gender expression and gender role expectations.
Originality/value
The paper provides implications for human resource development to assume a stronger and more active role in uncovering tacit issues embedded in leadership so that organizational workplaces become locations of greater equity, access, and fairness for all who aspire to leadership positions.
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Jim Stewart and Victoria Harte
The paper seeks to explore the proposition that there is a need for research to address the connections between talent management (TM) and managing diversity as one example of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to explore the proposition that there is a need for research to address the connections between talent management (TM) and managing diversity as one example of achieving better integration and less separation in academic work on human resource (HR).
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study of one organisation at a very early stage of implementing TM which involved some documentary analysis and interviews with six senior HR professionals in the organisation.
Findings
There is some limited evidence that professionals view different aspects of HR practice in isolation and do not make connections in practice as well as they could. This evidence is taken as sufficient support for the need for more research into the proposition.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is in its early stages and findings are not argued to be generalisable. However, they are sufficient to suggest there will be value on further research on connections between TM and managing diversity. One area still to be explored in more depth is the role of human resource development (HRD) practice in making those connections.
Practical implications
Both academics and practitioners may have to consider less emphasis on narrow speciaisms and foci in their work and take on more wholistic perspectives.
Originality/value
The literature review confirmed the assumption that the two topics are researched and written about separately with little published on the connections and implications of each for the other.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually discuss whether and how feminine voice is muted within e‐mails in organizations; the implications of which are substantial and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually discuss whether and how feminine voice is muted within e‐mails in organizations; the implications of which are substantial and far‐reaching for human resource development (HRD) professionals as well as the HRD field as a whole.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing the approach and arguments in muted group theory, the author conceptually applies these tenets to organizational e‐mail.
Findings
Current gender‐preferential research concentrates on the textual polarity of male‐ and female‐preferential language. These language differences carry over to organizational e‐mail despite the lack of contextual cues within e‐mail as well as the masculine nature of organizations. A critical assessment of these findings, rooted in muted group theory, reveals that women's voice is not merely marginalized (i.e. is present, but relegated to the margin), but it is mute (i.e. is not even present because it has no authentic language with which to use).
Research limitations/implications
Future research should concentrate on ways in which women remain muted and strategies to “un‐mute” them such that they are able to utilize a language reflective of their own experiences.
Practical implications
Diversity trainers who seek to incorporate diversity into organizations must look at the deeply entrenched assumptions of a culture that embraces likeness rather than difference. Many norms and taken for granted day to day procedures, such as e‐mail exchange, foster, and reinforce resistance to diversity.
Originality/value
The paper urges researchers, practitioners and academics to continue to analyze critically the muteness of women in organizations.
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Margaret Yap, Mark Robert Holmes, Charity‐Ann Hannan and Wendy Cukier
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between employees' perceptions of diversity training (DT) existence and effectiveness with organizational commitment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between employees' perceptions of diversity training (DT) existence and effectiveness with organizational commitment (OC), and career satisfaction (CS).
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses in this paper utilize survey data collected between 2006 and 2007 from over 11,000 managers, professionals, and executives working in nine large organizations in corporate Canada. The survey included questions about employees' perceptions of their work experiences and outcomes and their organizations' diversity practices. Comparisons of means as well as multivariate regression analyses were undertaken.
Findings
The paper shows that employees who perceived DT to be effective were significantly more committed to their organizations and more satisfied with their careers than employees who perceived DT to be ineffective or non‐existent.
Research limitations/implications
The paper examines the linkages between DT, OS, and CS based on survey responses from managers, professionals, and executives. Findings may therefore not be applicable to entry level employees.
Practical implications
DT, and in particular when viewed by employees to be effective, increases employees' OC and CS, which are associated with loyalty, lower turnover and higher employee engagement.
Originality/value
The paper found that employees' OC and CS are highest when they perceived DT to be effective. Factors associated with OC and CS are explored based on employees' perceptions of the availability and effectiveness of DT.