Search results

This chapter presents the principal interpretations that took place in Denmark and Sweden regarding the discourse on ‘Diversity Management’. We organise our presentation around three major themes that are central to the local Scandinavian context: gender equality, migration and moral grounds. This chapter shows the important role of gender equality work practices and how these practices now tend to be progressively incorporated in a broad Diversity Management construct, possibly leading to a less radical stance. Moreover, the comparison between Denmark and Sweden reveals the political associations with Diversity Management and migration in Denmark, but not in Sweden. Our third contribution unveils the tensions between the value of equality, which remains strong in the Scandinavian welfare state model, and the actual practices of Diversity Management.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which gender is “done” in executive search. The authors uncover how the ideal candidate for top management is defined in and through search practices, and discuss how and why women are excluded in the process.

The study is based on in‐depth interviews with male and female Austrian, Finnish and Swedish executive search consultants. The authors study the ways in which consultants talk about their work, assignments, clients, and candidates, and discern from their talk descriptions of practices where male dominance in top management is reinforced.

The ways in which gender is “done” and women are excluded from top management are similar across socio‐cultural contexts. In different societal conditions and culturally laden forms, search consultants, candidates and clients engage in similar practices that produce a similar outcome. Core practices of executive search constrain consultants in their efforts to introduce female candidates to the process and to increase the number of women in top management.

The study is exploratory in that it paves the way for more refined understandings of the ways in which gender plays a role in professional services in general and in practices of executive search in particular.

Unmasking how gender is woven into the executive search process may provide openings for “doing” gender differently, both for consultants and their clients. It may serve as a catalyst for change in widening the talent pool for top management.

Research on gendered practices in executive search is extremely rare. The study provides new insights into this influential professional practice and its outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the dominance of the mainstream discourse and practice of diversity management (DM) by identifying and problematizing three distinct but related issues that it encompasses: first, its tendency to displace all alternative approaches; second, its general neglect of the social-historical context and third, its almost exclusive focus on the business case rationale for supporting diversity.

Employing ethnographic research methods, the empirical material was collected in an international manufacturing corporation based in Sweden. It consists of three different, but interconnected approaches: archival research, interviews and observations.

The paper shows that in neglecting power, identity, intersectionality and the changing socio-historical context of diversity, a well-meaning corporate diversity programme tended to obscure ethnic and age-related disadvantages at work.

The limitations of this research relate largely to its dependence on a single case study and the limited focus on diversity as it affected able-bodied, white male immigrant workers. A broader study of the multiplicity of types of discrimination and ways in which diversity is managed in a range of countries and organizations could facilitate a more in-depth exploration of these issues and arguments.

Although not entirely new, the three arguments that have been drawn upon to discuss, analyse and illustrate DM through our data have rarely been brought together in one theoretical and empirical study.

The purpose of this paper is to build on contemporary intersectional literature to develop a grounded methodological framework for the study of social differences.

A systematic literature review serves as the foundation for a discussion of the challenges associated with intersectional research. The findings assist in positioning the proposed methodological framework within recent intersectional debates.

The review shows a rise in intersectional publications since the birth of the “intersectionality” term in 1989. Moreover, the paper points to four tensions within the field: a tension between looking at or beyond oppression; a tension between structural-oriented and process-oriented perspectives; an apparent incommensurability among the macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis; and a lack of coherent methodology.

On the basis of the highlighted tensions in contemporary research as well as the limitations of that research, the present presents a methodological framework and a discussion of the implications of that framework for the wider diversity literature.

The paper suggests an empirically grounded approach to studying differences. This provides an opportunity, for scholars and practitioners, to reassess possible a priori given assumptions, and open up to new explorations beyond conventional identity theorization.

The paper suggests a need for an empirically grounded approach to studying social differences, which would not only create an opportunity to reassess common assumptions but also open up for explorations beyond conventional identity theorizations.

The framework departs from traditional (critical) diversity scholarship, as it is process oriented but still emphasizes stable concepts. Moreover, it does not give primacy to oppression. Finally, it adopts a critical stance on the nature of the macro, meso, and micro levels as dominant analytical perspectives. As a result, this paper focusses on the importance of intersectionality as a conceptual tool for exploring social differences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the identity and diversity literatures and discuss how a better understanding of the theoretical connections between the two informs both diversity research and diversity management practices.

Literature review followed by a discussion of the theoretical and practical consequences of connecting the identity and diversity literatures.

The authors inform future research in three ways. First, by showing how definitions of identity influence diversity theorizing in specific ways. Second, the authors explore how such definitions entail distinct foci regarding how diversity should be analyzed and interventions actioned. Third, the authors discuss how theoretical coherence between definitions of identity and diversity perspectives – as well as knowledge about a perspective’s advantages and limitations – is crucial for successful diversity management research and practice.

The authors argue for a better understanding of differences, overlaps and limits of different identity perspectives, and for a stronger engagement with practice.

The work can encourage policy makers, diversity and HR managers to question their own practices and assumptions leading to more theoretical informed diversity management practices.

The theoretical connections between identity and diversity literature have so far not been reviewed systematically. The work foregrounds how important it is for diversity scholars to consider identity underpinnings of diversity research to help further develop the field within and beyond the three streams the authors discuss.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of obstacles to socioeconomic integration faced by highly-skilled immigrant women (HSIW) to Quebec, followed by a discussion of Quebec’s socio-political context and interculturalism, in an effort to better situate these obstacles. With these in mind, implications for diversity management are discussed.

The paper is largely based on a review of the immigrant integration, interculturalism and diversity management literatures pertaining to the socioeconomic integration of highly-skilled immigrants. It focusses on the socioeconomic integration of HSIW in the Quebec context.

The authors find that researchers should continue to examine aspects of the social and political contexts in which immigrant integration and diversity management take place when conducting studies in these areas. The authors also encourage continued research pertaining to specific groups, as these may bring to light-specific dynamics that can lead to exclusion.

This paper includes implications for diversity management in organizations seeking to foster inclusive practices with regards to ethnic minorities and immigrants in general, and HSIW in particular.

The paper sheds new light on immigrant integration and diversity management in Quebec by bridging the gap between three areas of study that are interconnected but seldom discussed together: socioeconomic integration of immigrants, interculturalism and diversity management in organizations.

To introduce the special issue.

A brief description of the Gender and Management track at the European Academy of Management Conference and an outline of the papers in the issue.

The track examined various issues and the papers chosen from the track for the special issue are closest to the central concerns of the journal.

Provides a summary of the perspectives considered.