EDI and Women's Inequality at Work: A Scoping Review

Abstract

There has been an explosion of interest in “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” (EDI) – also referred to as DEI among other acronyms. On the one hand, this management trend has the potential to draw attention to the ways in which organizational practices and climates can be transformed to have a positive impact on the underrepresentation of women and other marginalized and excluded groups in the workplace. On the other hand, there may be real consequences for women as EDI replaces other concepts such as women's rights, gender equality, affirmative action, employment equity, gender discrimination, etc. This chapter applies a gender lens to the EDI concept and management policy and practice. It juxtaposes EDI's emergence with the lack of progress on gender equality that is observed and measured in many regions of the world and highlights several critiques that may explain this lack of progress. It also identifies what EDI policies and practices need to take into consideration to better address gender inequality in the workplace. Legal approaches are discussed along with a list of potential areas of research on EDI and gender equality to determine the best path forward for making concrete progress on true equality for women in the workplace.

Citation

Kilgour, M.A. (2024), "EDI and Women's Inequality at Work: A Scoping Review", Wasieleski, D. and Weber, J. (Ed.) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Management (Business and Society 360, Vol. 6), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2514-175920240000006001