Understanding the Agency of Diversity Managers: A Relational and Multilevel Investigation.

PhDThis thesis aims to provide a critical realist account of diversity managers' agency, incorporating a critique of the existing diversity management research. A multilevel and relational analytical framework is offered in order to understand diversity managers' agency. The framework interpreted and operationalised Bourdieu's key concepts, `field', `habitus', `capitals' and `strategies' in the organisational context, for exploring and explaining macro, meso and micro level influences on the agency of diversity managers. The macro-social field of diversity management is mapped out by analysing data from an online national survey completed by diversity managers in the UK, and in-depth interviews with diversity managers of large public and private sector organisations. Then, findings of an extensive case study of Ford Motor Company, which includes company documentation and interviews with the company's diversity managers, are introduced to examine meso-organisational and micro-individual dynamics of diversity managers' agency. The analysis of the findings revealed that the agency of diversity managers is multilayered and complex. Whilst the boundaries of this agency are drawn by the deeply seated structures and mechanisms which are embedded in the fabric of social and organisational lives, diversity managers own varying degrees of social, cultural and symbolic capitals which are potential sources of power and influence, and they utilise strategies in order to activate this potential and widen the scope of their agency. The thesis addresses the limitations in diversity management literature, which are associated with dualisms of agency and structure, and qualitative and quantitative methods. It makes theoretical and methodological contribution by offering original empirical evidence generated through a multi-method strategy and analysing diversity managers' agency at the interplay of agentic and structural dynamics. It also offers policy makers at organisational and national levels a realistic understanding of diversity management processes that may inform design of more effective and progressive policies and initiatives.School of Business and Management Queen Mary University

Recent developments in the equality and diversity agenda in the UK: the 'big society' under austerity

The UK labour market and society are characterized by a vibrant diversity generated by a combination of factors. These factors include migration associated with the country’s post- colonial legacy and to its more recent membership of the EU. It includes the relatively recent demographic shifts related to feminization of the labour market and with an ageing population. It also includes the increased visibility of religious and sexual minorities and of disabled people. Yet, inequalities and disadvantage continues to persist for members of some demographic groups spanning gender, ethnicity, age, disability and sexuality. Confronting discrimination in UK workplaces, in common with other coutries, has been based on a combination of regulatory pressure, derived from a variety of civil society pressures, and of voluntary measures introduced by employers, based upon business- case arguments about the potential benefits of promoting a diverse workforce representative of the social demographic characteristics of the local labour market and customer base. The equilibrium of this balance has not developed evenly and incrementally, however. As Dickens (2007) notes, there has never been a consensus over the extent of what is desirable with regards to equality and diversity, nor the means by which this consensus should best be achieved,The equilibrium that UK equality and diversity at work appeared to have settled at, has been disrupted as a consequence of the global financial crisis after 2008 and the subsequent election of a coalition government whose policy agenda for ‘tackling the deficit’. This chapter, as an update to the chapter by Tatli (2010), outlines the recent developments in equality and diversity at work in the UK. It begins with a brief summary of some key demographics and equality- related statistics. It then summarizes the key points made in the 2010 UK chapter. The chapter then moves on to identify the key changes in relation to the above mentioned responses to the global financial crisis. Since the publication of the 2010 chapter, the key shift in the equality and diversity landscape in the UK has been one of ideological and political rather than demographic, cultural or related to any notable shift in the dominant managerial discourse on the issue. As a result, equality and diversity has been radically reframed and resourced around the claims to an approach that pursues government austerity, but combined with a renewed focus on fairness, sometimes referred to in terms of a ‘big society’ agenda. This ideological shift – and its overspill into the framework of statutory rights on the issue – marks a significant change in UK approach to equality and diversity and, therefore, constitutes a key focus in this update chapter

Diversity and inclusion practitioners and non-binary employees in the UK

This article examines how diversity and inclusion practitioners in the UK can challenge and/or reproduce the marginalisation of non-binary employees in organisations. Using Bourdieu’s notions of habitus, doxa and illusio, this article unpacks practitioners’ perspectives and approaches toward non-binary equality issues at work. The analysis focuses on examining the relational and situated nature of their organisational roles, and the influence of the wider social order as it relates to non-binary people. Interview data is organised around three main themes that develop this article’s principal contributions: incrementalism, problematisation of gender fluidity, and solidaristic inclusion. While incrementalism and problematisation of gender fluidity indicate an underlying status-quo bias that reproduce gender identity inequalities that affect non-binary employees, solidaristic inclusion offers the promise of transformational change. The conclusion outlines practical implications for IHRM scholars and practitioners

CSR and leadership approaches and practices: a comparative inquiry of owners and professional executives

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Wiley in European Management Review on 20/08/2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12318 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.This study generates comparative insights into CSR approaches of owners and non-kin professional executives in an emerging country context, Turkey. Drawing on 61 interviews, we found that ownership status of the executive is crucial in shaping their CSR perceptions and practices. Owner-executives are empowered in pursuing CSR approaches based on their personal preferences and values; they have mostly societal aims. Professionals display tendency for company-related CSR practice; they exhibit greater knowledge of CSR, and their CSR initiatives are the results of strategic choices to enhance their power within the corporation. Our paper contributes to the debate on the drivers for CSR by accounting for both societal and individual influences on the CSR agency of these two key groups of executives. First, we develop a typology of CSR approaches of owners and professionals. Second, we provide insights from an emerging country context. Third, we present empirically grounded practice implications for CSR

Gender identity inclusion in the workplace: broadening diversity management research and practice through the case of transgender employees in the UK

Based on 14 in-depth interviews, this paper explores the unique workplace experiences of transgender individuals in the UK employment context. The paper identifies gender identity diversity as a key blind spot in HRM and diversity management research and practice. The findings reveal the range of workplace challenges experienced by transgender employees. Major findings are that discriminatory effects are often occupation- and industry-specific; transition is a period where many transgender workers suffer due to lack of proper organisational support; and expertise deficits exist in supporting and accommodating transgender employees’ needs. In unpacking these experiences, the paper demonstrates the distinctive dimensions of challenges faced by transgender employees, revealing the need for conceptually expanding how we frame diversity and diversity management. Our findings identify the necessity for an emic approach not only to researching diversity but also to devising organisational diversity strategies. The paper provides recommendations for HRM policy and practice in order to develop a more sophisticated approach to achieving inclusion

Challenging the assumptions of social entrepreneurship education and repositioning it for the future: wonders of cultural, social, symbolic and economic capitals

Purpose: Social entrepreneurship education (SEE) is gaining increasing attention globally. This paper aims to focus on how SEE may be better understood and reconfigured from a Bourdieusian capital perspective with an emphasis on the process of mobilising and transforming social entrepreneurs’ cultural, social, economic and symbolic resources. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on qualitative research with a sample of social entrepreneurship educators and mentors, the authors generate insights into the significance of challenging assumptions and establishing values and principles and hence that of developing a range of capitals (using the Bourdieusian notion of capital) for SEE. Findings: The findings highlight the significance of developing a range of capitals and their transformative power for SEE. In this way, learners can develop dispositions for certain forms of capitals over others and transform them to each other in becoming reflexive social agents. Originality/value: The authors respond to the calls for critical thinking in entrepreneurship education and contribute to the field by developing a reflexive approach to SEE. The authors also make recommendations to educators, who are tasked with implementing such an approach in pursuit of raising the next generations of social entrepreneurs

Challenging the assumptions of social entrepreneurship education and repositioning it for the future : wonders of cultural, social and symbolic capitals

Purpose Social entrepreneurship education (SEE) is gaining increasing attention globally. This paper aims to focus on how SEE may be better understood and reconfigured from a Bourdieusian capital perspective with an emphasis on the process of mobilising and transforming social entrepreneurs’ cultural, social, economic and symbolic resources. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on qualitative research with a sample of social entrepreneurship educators and mentors, the authors generate insights into the significance of challenging assumptions and establishing values and principles and hence that of developing a range of capitals (using the Bourdieusian notion of capital) for SEE. Findings The findings highlight the significance of developing a range of capitals and their transformative power for SEE. In this way, learners can develop dispositions for certain forms of capitals over others and transform them to each other in becoming reflexive social agents. Originality/value The authors respond to the calls for critical thinking in entrepreneurship education and contribute to the field by developing a reflexive approach to SEE. The authors also make recommendations to educators, who are tasked with implementing such an approach in pursuit of raising the next generations of social entrepreneurs