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This paper addresses nurses working in public hospitals in order to find out how gender may affect their perception of both diversity management and organisational inclusion. Moreover, and given the novelty of workplace fun and the lack of research in this field in the context of developing countries, the authors explore the relationship between diversity management and organisational inclusion and explore workplace fun as a predictor of organisational inclusion.

A total of 360 questionnaires were collected from nurses in three public hospitals in Egypt. The authors applied a t-test to identify how gender may affect perceptions of diversity management. Moreover, the authors employed hierarchical regressions to test gender and diversity management as predictors of organisational inclusion and to test whether workplace fun can predict organisational inclusion, too.

The findings indicate that compared to their male colleagues, female nurses respond to diversity management practices more positively. Second, no significant statistical differences in the mean values for female and male nurses were observed regarding their perceptions of organisational inclusiveness. Third, diversity management is positively associated with organisational inclusion for the nurses. Finally, workplace fun mediates the relationship between diversity management perceptions and organisational inclusion.

This paper contributes by filling a gap in human resources (HR) research in the health-care sector, in which empirical studies on the relationship between gender, workplace fun and organisational inclusion have been limited so far.

The extreme demographic misrepresentation of organisations is a key business and societal issue in South Africa. This research provides organisations that are committed to the creation of a diverse and inclusive environment with key considerations that need to be managed in order to drive transformation. The final output of this research is a set of diversity and inclusion management considerations. It is a blueprint that organisations can use to move beyond compliance recruitment (employment equity), to a commitment to systemic change, driven at organisational, interpersonal and individual levels.

There seems to exist a widespread, unquestioned and unquestionable consent, both in research and practice, that there is a moral value inherent in equality and related initiatives toward diversity and inclusion. However, this consent is primarily based on political convictions and emotional reasons, and is without any strong ethical grounding. Whilst a considerable volume of research has been carried out into different facets of the economic value of initiatives toward equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), comparatively little research has been undertaken into its moral value. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to structure the moral perspectives on EDI more precisely and more critically.

After discussing the interrelation of the three concepts equality, diversity and inclusion, the authors discuss the way in which initiatives toward diversity and inclusion are justified morally in literature. The authors point out the crucial position of equality, and then, subsequently, outline how different approaches to equality try to achieve moral legitimacy. Being an important group of initiatives in this debate, the authors subsequently reflect upon the moral (il)legitimacy of affirmative action (AA). The concluding section of this paper provides a brief summary of the findings.

The moral evaluation of equality, diversity and inclusion remains an under-theorized field. Within the discourse on equality, diversity and inclusion, the term “justice” is largely used in an intuitive way, rather than being rooted in a specific moral philosophy. As there are several conceivable, differing moral perspectives on EDI, one cannot expect an indisputable answer to the question as to whether a given approach toward equality, diversity and inclusion is morally praiseworthy or just. However, the widespread assumption that equality is morally praiseworthy per se, and that striving for equality morally justifies any initiative toward diversity and inclusion, is untenable.

This paper addresses the lack of theorizing on the moral value of initiatives toward equality, diversity, and inclusion, such as diversity management, AA or various equal opportunity approaches. Future research could enrich the discourse on the moral evaluation of diversity management, inclusion programs and organizational equality approaches with new philosophical facets and perspectives, perspectives that might differ from those taken in the predominantly American discourse.

The extreme demographic misrepresentation of organisations is a key business and societal issue in South Africa (SA). The purpose of this paper is to provide organisations that are committed to the creation of a diverse and inclusive environment with key considerations that need to be managed in order to create more diverse drive transformation.

This research uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques to gain an understanding of the elements that need to be managed to enhance perception of inclusion in the SA workplace.

The study finds that key inclusion elements that need to be transformed at an organisational level include “senior leadership”, “organisation climate”, “organisational belonging”, “communication” and “transparent recruitment, promotion and development”. At an interpersonal level or relational level, inclusion components include respect and acceptance, the “line manager/subordinate relationship” (which includes the subordinates experience of dignity, trust and recognition), “engagement” which includes decision-making authority and access to information, and finally the “individual's relationship with the organisation's vision and values”. Finally, at an individual level, factors which influenced inclusion, and therefore required attention in recruitment or management were “personality”, “locus of control”, self-confidence which includes self-esteem and “power”.

While this research facilitated “deep” insight into the diversity and inclusion components, this study could have been enriched through exploring diversity and inclusion in other organisational contexts. Second, while the InclusionIndex™ survey provided a useful base measure of inclusion for this research, the use of a survey as the primary research tool might have been leading to the respondents. Third, because the InclusionIndex™ survey was used as the exploratory tool, and was the respondents’ first exposure to the diversity and inclusion terminology, the survey became the informal frame of reference for diversity and inclusion, and thus might have influenced the focus group discussion and semi-structured interview responses.

Using these diversity and inclusion considerations, leaders of pluralistic and multicultural organisations can focus their attention on developing inclusion areas that are weak and require more consideration. Second, this research aims to establish that inclusion extends beyond recruitment of diverse individuals to a process driven at organisational, interpersonal and individual levels.

These management considerations are important and valuable because they can be used to guide systemic change in organisations, driven at organisational, interpersonal and individual levels. This approach will help organisations to move beyond employment equity compliance, to a commitment to multicultural diverse and inclusive organisations.

Introducing the concepts of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), the chapter provides an overview of frameworks and approaches used to manage workforce diversity. First, the authors introduce the notion of the old deal based on the uneven relationship between human diversity, nature, and technological innovation. The chapter then explores the new deal between humans, nature, and technology. The authors are providing cases from the EU, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Iceland to show the emergence of the new deal in managing diversity.

This paper aims to apply and integrate the existing literature of inclusion to develop a multi-level theory of organizational inclusion for the more and more diverse workforce.

This paper first analyzes the issue of workforce diversity in China, and then reviews the concept of organizational inclusion. After that, this paper develops a multi-level model of organizational inclusion catering to Chinese diversity issue.

This paper outlines a series of propositions on how organizational, group, interpersonal and individual factors affect inclusion at both organizational and individual levels, and the consequences of inclusion in the workplace.

This paper is the first research to discuss the inclusion management in Chinese context. This paper proposes a multi-level theoretical model of organizational inclusion to guide empirical studies on the integration of the diversity in workplace in China.

1. To understand the importance of creating and implementing a vision for enhancing gender diversity and inclusion relevant to the manufacturing and engineering sector in an emerging market.

2. To develop insights into the vision and characteristics of an inclusive leader.

3. To evaluate the strategies and organizational levers that created and nurtured a climate of gender diversity and inclusion in Cummins India.

4. To identify organizational levers that will enable the sustenance and institutionalization of a climate of inclusion.

This case study traces a 16-year journey of diversity and inclusion at Cummins India, a subsidiary of the Fortune 500 manufacturing organization Cummins Inc. headquartered in the US. Initially spearheaded by Anant Talaulicar, and then continued by Ashwath Ram, gender D&I initiative at Cummins India has made significant strides. Talaulicar had an opportunity to immerse himself in the ethos of the parent company before joining the Indian subsidiary.

In India during the early 2000s the external environment was characterized by rapid technological and regulatory changes and increasing complexity. To make matters more difficult, the internal culture was steeped in a traditional manufacturing mindset marked by dismal female participation rate and an over-representation of locals with similar beliefs and value systems.

Given the mammoth task already taken up by Talaulicar by improving the diversity numbers from 3% to 33%, Ram had big shoes to fill. On one hand, he had to drive the business amidst uncertain market conditions; on the other hand, he had to carry on a legacy. Given that he himself had a lived experience of Cummins global values, he knew D&I was an integral part of the Cummins way of life. His familiarity with the socio-cultural challenges of the country coupled with his drive to continue and rejuvenate the D&I agenda, brought some interesting, yet challenging, questions for him. With the internal and external pressures looming large before him, could he institutionalize a climate of inclusion that could serve as a strategic lever to place the company on the path of growth, vibrancy and economic prosperity?

Through qualitative research conducted by the authors, this case study brought out learnings pertaining to linkage of leadership in creating a climate of inclusion and expansion of talent diversity through a set of people strategies and HR practices. The contribution of this case study is primarily to theory and practice in the field of Human Resource Management, D&I as well as in developing inclusive leadership.

MBA programs and leadership development programs

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.

The purpose of this study is to examine the aspects of workplace environment and the experiences of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees in an Asian context; a subject that has hitherto been somewhat neglected. It responds to a call for more contextual research in the field of employment diversity in organizational management in general.

This is a mixed method study, which utilizes multiple sources of primary and secondary data and consists of in-depth personal interviews, a survey of LGBT employees, published data (including legislation and state policies), reports issued by social and media organizations, documentary evidence from Taiwanese companies and insights drawn from the existing literature.

It was found that there is an interplay between the macro, meso and micro levels in the multilevel relational framework applied to diversity of employment in Taiwan. Macrolevel factors, such as supportive legislation, mass media and social tolerance toward LGBT community positively affect mesolevel factors, such as stable and secure social networks among the LGBT community in the form of legal and social organizations (NGOs, social media, bars, restaurants, etc.) as well as many companies inclusion of sexual orientation in their definitions of diversity. However, this is opposed by macrolevel, cultural values related to family structure and intergenerational relationships that inhibit pro-active integration and equality of LGBT individuals at the meso organizational level. Companies headed by older-generation leadership can be slow to advocate, support and promote sexual-orientation diversity in their workplaces. In contrast, microlevel data shows that LGBT employees receive robust psychological support from their peer group, friends and the LGBT community, although gaining acceptance by family and coworkers remains a challenge.

Future studies need to focus on the dynamics of the meso- and microlevel factors by investigating how organizational structure, perspectives of leaders and HR managers, diversity management practices and attitudes and behaviors of LGBT employees and other coworkers affect development and integration of sexual-orientation diversity programs within organizations.

Managers, policy makers in organization as well as educators benefit from the context-sensitive findings and recommendations offered in this paper.

Understanding of LGBT individuals employment environment helps to facilitate or hinder the positive development of equal society and benefit both LGBT employees, their coworkers and managers.

Limited research exists on the LGBT employees experiences at work in Asia. This study makes unique contribution to the understanding of sexual orientation category of diversity at work in Taiwan context.

This chapter focuses on the underlying levers of diversity management, namely inclusive leaders, authenticity, networking and visibility, and clear career paths in two best practice cases. The aim of our research is to provide the strategic orientation of developing diversity management through business education in Slovenian business environment based on best practice cases as well as content analysis of 104 responses within management course at the Faculty of economics University of Ljubljana.

Qualitative joint content analysis was selected to analyze the data, in order to quantify qualitative data collected, by understanding its context.

Based on findings, the conceptual model of diversity management curriculum is introduced.

Limitations of the study are in the open-ended questionnaire design in addition to analyzing only two purposely chosen best practice cases, which do not provide for the overall state of diversity management in Slovenia.

Discussion is based on the findings of diversity management inclusiveness, offering also concrete theoretical and practical implications for deans, academic community, as well as students who want to practice inclusive diversity management.

Our chapter raises awareness on diversity management development and implementation on the basis of identified good practice examples. By presenting Slovene cases and analyses of the diversity management implementation, we promote the value of inclusion and diversity in the workplace.

Our chapter presents two original case analyses within Slovene diversity management and offers the conceptual model of diversity management curriculum.