Black lives matter: On the denial of systemic racism, White liberals, and polite racism

Systemic discrimination, racism, and inequality have garnered renewed and intense attention following the George Floyd murder and demonstrations of Black Lives Matter (BLM) around the world. In sharing our anger and sorrow, we reached out to several colleagues and scholars in the Black community. We wanted to provide a forum [1] for them to express their grief, share their experiences and help us move forward. The response to our invitation to write was overwhelming, but also heartbreaking. Our colleagues were devastated and broken. They expressed immense difficulty in writing because of anger, despair, and sadness. Stella Nkomo (personal correspondence) asked if “the burst of recognition of systemic racism for real this time?” It is our hope that their collective voices, captured in this collection of essays, will help us find a way forward as academics, researchers, and mentors. We need to refocus our efforts to combat anti-Black racism, dismantle systemic discrimination, restore racial justice, and enable Blacks and other racially oppressed groups to fully participate in society and life

Sexual Orientation, Work Values, Pay, and Preference for Public and Nonprofit Employment: Evidence from Canadian Postsecondary Students

Despite some evidence that gay men hold fewer government jobs in the U.S. than their population share would predict, analysis of two large surveys of Canadian university and college students shows no lack desire for public sector jobs among GLBTQs. Instead, we find that (1) GLBTQs are more likely than heterosexuals to prefer public and nonprofit sector employment; (2) GLBTQ career goals and work values predict a stronger desire for public and nonprofit sector jobs than do those of heterosexuals; and (3) GLBTQs expect to pay a smaller penalty for working in the public and nonprofit sectors. In partial support of public service motivation theory, we find that altruistic motives drive students to both the public and the nonprofit sectors (though desires for job security and strong health and benefit plans have a bigger impact on wanting a government job). Despite economists’ findings that the federal government pays comparable workers more than the private sector, students preparing for government jobs expect to earn less than those heading to the private sector, and students who prioritize starting salary and advancement opportunities prefer private sector jobs

Walking the talk on diversity: CEO beliefs, moral values, and the implementation of workplace diversity practices

Although CEO commitment is recognized as being crucial to organizational diversity efforts, we know little about how CEOs signal their priorities and mobilize key organizational actors to implement diversity management. We tested an integrative model in which CEO beliefs about diversity were theorized to predict the implementation of organizational diversity practices through two consecutive mediating steps—via greater CEO engagement in pro-diversity behavior, and in turn, higher perceived CEO commitment by their HR manager. In this model, we also proposed a moderating effect such that when CEOs have less positive beliefs about diversity, CEOs espousing higher moral values will display greater pro-diversity behavior. Results supported the proposed model. Taken together, our findings indicate that a CEO’s words and actions alone are not sufficient for the implementation of diversity management practices. HR managers must view their CEOs as being committed to workplace diversity in order for diversity management practices to be implemented

Game of Loans: The Relationship Between Education Debt, Social Responsibility Concerns, and Making a Career Choice in the Public, Private, and Nonprofit Sectors

The public and nonprofit sectors generally pay less than the private sector, and individuals are willing to forgo higher salaries in exchange for greater intrinsic satisfaction derived from making a contribution to society. However, personal financial considerations, such as education debt, may discourage individuals from pursuing careers in lower paying sectors even if they are predisposed to public service motivation (PSM). We surveyed a sample of graduating students to investigate if (a) education debt discourages students from pursuing lower paying public or nonprofit careers and (b) whether PSM overrides the considerations students might make about entering lower paying sectors as their education debt rises. First, we find that education debt has a marginal effect on initially selecting private over public and nonprofit careers. Rising education debt may discourage students from public sector careers after controlling for PSM. We also find that rising education debt may discourage students from nonprofit careers even with high levels of PSM. The present study enhances our understanding of how financial considerations, in the form of education debt, may influence a student’s initial choice in pursuing public, private, and nonprofit careers

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Views of Women from the Second-Wave Feminist Movement

This is a qualitative study of the career perspectives of early female leaders in Canada whose careers emerged from the second-wave feminist movement and who ascended to executive leadership positions. Using a discourse analytic lens, we analyze their perspectives on women's limited presence in executive leadership roles. The research participants suggested that women lacked the necessary resilience or personality; women lacked requisite political skills; affirmative action policies have hindered women's career advancement; and women have been unable to put their careers over family in the way that is required for executive leadership. The views expressed by these participants are often contrarian to current thinking about gender and leadership but underline the gendered nature of persistent barriers to executive leadership past and present. Cet article est une étude qualitative des perspectives de carrière des premières femmes leaders au Canada qui ont vu leurs carrières démarrer à la faveur du mouvement féministe de la deuxième vague et qui ont accédé à des postes de direction. En recourant à l'analyse du discours, ses auteurs examinent les perspectives des femmes sur la présence limitée des femmes dans les postes de direction. Le dépouillement des données recueillies permet de constater que pour les participantes, les femmes n'ont pas la résilience ou la personnalité nécessaire; les femmes n'ont pas les compétences politiques requises; les politiques liées à la discrimination positive entravent l'avancement professionnel des femmes; et les femmes ne sont pas en mesure de faire passer leur carrière avant leur famille, de la manière requise pour occuper des postes de direction. Les points de vue exprimés par ces participantes vont souvent à l'encontre de la pensée actuelle sur le genre et le leadership, mais soulignent la nature sexuée des obstacles persistants auxquels les femmes font face ou ont fait face pour accéder au leadership exécutif

20 Years of Workplace Diversity Research in Hospitality and Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis

Purpose – This paper charts the development of diversity research in hospitality and tourism (H&T) as a field of study. We are interested in how diversity has been studied, where diversity scholarship has been published, who are the leading diversity scholars, and whether their work has been influential. In addition, we identified the institutions and countries that contribute significantly to diversity scholarship in H&T. Methodology – We draw from the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and Australian Business Dean’s Council Journal Quality List covering 109 journals to identify the relevant articles on workplace diversity in H&T. We conducted evaluative and relational bibliometric techniques to assess the prominence of diversity scholarship in the field. Findings – Diversity research in H&T did not gain traction until 2005. Using Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal as a benchmark, we found that diversity research in H&T closely tracked the diversity topics in general organization and management literature. However, H&T lagged in race and ethnic, as well as gender identity research. A majority of diversity research is published in leading (top-ranked) journals, signifying the value of diversity scholarship in H&T. Hospitality journals published the most articles, while tourism journals reported the highest impact. Scholars based in the US, China, and the UK contributed the most diversity articles but one researcher, Osman M. Karatepe (Turkey), stood out as the most productive and influential diversity scholar in H&T. Originality – Given an absence of prior review and diversity research has only gained ground in the H&T literature since 2005, this bibliometric study offers a fossil record and documents the trajectory of diversity scholarship in H&T, identifies the scholars who are active in this area of research, and highlights institutions and countries where diversity research is conducted. Implications – The insights from this study aid H&T scholars in identifying trends and opportunities in diversity research, assessing the productivity and impact of various journals and databases, locating collaborative opportunities (through co-citations and highly productive and influential institutions and scholars), and benchmarking their own work

Education debt and making a career choice in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors

We surveyed a sample of Millennial college seniors who are job seekers to investigate if: (1) education debt discourages students from pursuing (lower paying) public or nonprofit careers, and (2) whether PSM overrides the considerations students might make about entering lower paying sectors (i.e., public and nonprofit sectors) as their education debt rises. To our surprise, we find that education debt is related to a greater propensity to select lower paying public sector careers but not lower paying nonprofit jobs (except for those with high debt loads). Moderate levels of PSM are required for students to select public sector careers and high levels of PSM are required for students to select nonprofit careers with rising education debt. We conclude that individuals with a high debt load may be attracted to public policy setting and select public sector careers, while those who display empathy and compassion are attracted to nonprofit work in service to others

Understanding inequality in employment: an analysis of the subjective context

This paper provides an analysis of the role of context in inequality in employment by using the setting of Saudi public organisations. We focus on tribe and religion as they represent the major cultural force in Saudi public organisations and they hold major power and resources. We conducted interviews and focus-group discussion with employees from dominant and non-dominant groups. We utilised the multilayers framework to help us go beyond the basic analysis of the descriptive and analytical context to focus on the deep analysis of the subjective context in understanding inequality in employment. Our findings revealed the perpetuation of inequality in employment is considered a political strategy which is reinforced by the state and supported by tribal structure and religious establishment. In the absence of equality legislation, equality in employment seen as a form of modern liberal and social democracy which is why not supported by dominant groups. The subjective analysis of the context provides potential implication to enhance theory and practice on the contextualisation and operationalisation of inequality in employment

White and minority employee reactions to perceived discrimination at work: Evidence of White fragility?

Building on the notion of “White fragility,” this study aims to explore how Whites react and cope with perceived discrimination at work. Specifically, the authors explore whether: (1) Whites react more negatively than minorities when they perceive discrimination at work and (2) Whites are more likely than minorities to restore the status quo by leaving the situation when they perceive discrimination at work. Data for this study were obtained from the Professional Worker Career Experience Survey. In total, 527 working professionals from multiple organizations across the central USA participated in the survey. The authors find evidence that Whites experience more negative psychological effects (i.e. lower job satisfaction and higher work stress) from perceived discrimination than minority employees and are more likely to act to restore conditions of privilege by leaving their current job and employer. The stronger negative effects of perceived discrimination for Whites (vs minorities) were restricted to work outcomes (job satisfaction, work stress, turnover intentions from one\u27s employer) and were not evident with respect to perceptions of overall well-being (i.e. life satisfaction), suggesting that White fragility may play a particularly influential role in work settings, wherein racial stress may be more readily activated.Consistent with the notion of White fragility, the study’s results demonstrate that the deleterious impact of perceived discrimination on employee work outcomes may, in some cases, be stronger for White than minority employees

The Effects of Top Management Team National Diversity and Institutional Uncertainty on Subsidiary CSR Focus

This research investigates how top management team national diversity (TMTND) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) institutional uncertainty affect strategic CSR focus in foreign-owned subsidiaries. The paper develops a theoretical framework based on institutional theory and upper echelon perspectives to test a sample of MNE subsidiaries. Survey data were collected from subsidiaries in Thailand and Taiwan. Non-symmetric analysis suggests that while TMTND plays an important role in establishing a CSR focus, it is not conducive in itself to high-performance outcomes. Performance is measured by market share, sales growth, and profitability for each subsidiary. The results also show that there are notable differences between the subsidiaries located in Thailand and Taiwan as to what extent CSR strategic focus and top management team national diversity are relevant for high-performance outcomes. The study demonstrates that the links between CSR, TMTND, and subsidiary performance are much more complex than previously assumed