Diversity management can be bad for you

Abstract

Is diversity management the new tool to combat discrimination in employment, and how is it seen by both employers and union activists? A trend that began in North America, it is now being increasingly incorporated in European businesses. How it relates to equal opportunities, positive action and the priority given to combating racial discrimination in the workplace is closely analysed here. Attractive to employers, it can be a means of evading hard choices about equality and justice at work.

Which foot first: diversity management and affirmative action in Brazilian business

“…The concept of diversity management was first employed in the USA during the late 1980s, signaling a shift away from affirmative action as a lever for change in the human resources and management arena (Tomlinson;Schwabenland, 2010;Özbilgin, 2005;Wrench, 2005;Humphries;Grice, 1995). Affirmative action, linked to the forceful and more immediate action frame of rights had emerged in the post second world war period as a consequence of the civil rights movements fight for social justice, and was based on such moral values as equality and fairness (Tomlinson;Schwabenland, 2010, Wrench, 2005.…”

“…Affirmative action, linked to the forceful and more immediate action frame of rights had emerged in the post second world war period as a consequence of the civil rights movements fight for social justice, and was based on such moral values as equality and fairness (Tomlinson;Schwabenland, 2010, Wrench, 2005. Even if the Wagner Act of 1935 had already signalized a new direction for relationship of the public sector and private organizations, since it established some mechanisms to protect trade union workers from being dismissed, affirmative action as it is discussed today was a result of title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.…”

“…Despite their multiple perspectives, researchers here take a more critical approach, showing concern about the moral case for equality and the dangers that the loss of emphasis on moral values can have for social justice. Here, affirmative action is seen as the most effective route for organizations to achieve a diversified workforce (for example: Greene;Kirton;Wrench, 2005;Humphries;Grice, 1995;Mor Barak;Findler;Wind, 2003;Noon, 2007;Perriton, 2009;Sinclair, 2000;Wrench, 2005;.…”

“…Amongst reasons given are that it: obscures unequal power relations in organizations and hampers the possibility of action (Zanoni, et al, 2011); is based on an instrumental and individual view of differences (Noon, 2010;Özbilgin, Tatli, 2011;Zanoni, et al, 2011); is a tool to undermine identity-based collectivism in organizations and to obscure group-based systematic inequalities in access to power and resources (Özbilgin, Tatli, 2011;Tatli, 2011;Zanoni, et al, 2011); rejects the need for structural intervention, adopting a (neo)liberal approach of self regulation through assuming that market forces would provide the best way to achieve equality (Noon, 2010); and is used to prioritize soft rather than hard practices to enhance diversity or equal opportunity practices (Wrench, 2005).…”

“…Equally, some scholars on the mainstream side will contend that diversity management policies and practices should be seen as a step towards affirmative action, given that in a number of cases they themselves are a result of the fight against discrimination Peretti, 2007;Leroux;Peretti, 2008); certainly the reaction to HIV/aids discrimination at work would back this up. However there are others, especially those from the critical side, who take the opposite path and contend that equal rights legislation and affirmative action are prerequisites for the development of diversity management since they create the social, legal and organizational environment and incentives which administrative initiatives require (Greene;Kirton;Wrench, 2005;Wrench, 2007).…”