Converging logics? Managing migration and managing diversity

Abstract

Migration management and diversity management are recognised as central paradigms in the context of migration and plural societies. A review of scholarly literature analysing the discourses and practices of migration and diversity management reveal that the two phenomena have been studied in isolation and that research on diversity management has predominantly been published in organisation and management literature rather than being integrated in the field of ethnic and migration studies. This article argues that it is relevant and fruitful to study migration management and diversity management in conjunction, since there are significant thematic and logical convergences, and to incorporate diversity management in the study of migration in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the entanglement of migration and diversity management. Based on a synthesis of scholarship and analysis of European reports, the article proposes to recognise three main convergences between the logic of migration management and diversity management: the presentation of migration and plurality as the 'new' norm; optimisation; and, technocracy. Finally, Isuggest directions for a shared research agenda, and, drawing on the prominence of a Foucauldian governmentality framework in critical studies of migration and diversity management, present this as a potentially useful point of departure.

Exploring Diversity Management in Transnational Corporations Through the Lens of Migration and Expatriation

“…It is important to consider both diversity and migration studies side by side as the meaning of both terms intersect (De Jong, 2016;Pilati et al, 2015). Indeed, incorporating diversity management into the discourse on migration management could enhance the understanding of the relationship between diversity and expatriation.…”

“…Migration management refers to strategies designed to handle issues relating to increased mobility of people across international borders. Diversity management, on the other hand, refers to approaches for dealing with a variety of differences, including gender, ethnicity, age, and sexuality (De Jong, 2016). While diversity is found to be inherent in pluralistic societies such as Nigeria (Mustapha, 2007), it is seen to be a consequent of migration in homogeneous societies like South Korea (Moon, 2015).…”

“…While the literature on migration extends to sending and receiving country perspective in terms of the brain drain/brain gain analysis and contention for available jobs by natives and migrants, and dependence on migrants for workforce balance by industrialized countries (Pilati et al, 2015). De Jong (2016) noted that migration and diversity are mostly discussed in relation to Western societies of the global North, and that diversity management is usually offered as a rational solution to the problems of ethnic pluralism in Western societies. Scheible (2015) suggested that immigration is needed to balance the labor supply of industrialized countries.…”

Public organisations and diversity: approaches to an under-researched topic

“…And finally, 'diversity' as a motto of various policies, now seems to be omnipresent in the public sphere of many countries (Vertovec 2012;Salzbrunn 2014;de Jong 2016). Initially developed in the United States (see Dobbin 2009), diversity management slowly travelled to Europe, first as a public commitment of big international companies.…”

Mainstreaming and Superdiversity: Beyond More Integration

“…How diversity is perceived and imagined (Vertovec 2012) is of particular importance for integration policies which arguably, like migration policies, have to satisfy related and sometimes contradictory standards of legitimacy (Boswell 2007;Jong 2015). As we have just noted, superdiversity research aims to shift ideas about diversity away from thinking about more diversity towards thinking about the complexities of diversity.…”