Discursive managerial practices of diversity and homogeneity
- 10 September 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Journal of Gender Studies
- Vol. 24 (3), 259-274
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2013.833086
Abstract
The concept of diversity as an organizational value has become an integral part of many organizational policies, yet women and minorities continue to be underrepresented as managers. Scholars have drawn attention to the paradox in which managers recognize diversity as an organizational value and yet top level managerial ranks remain primarily homogenous. How senior managers negotiate the use of the discourse of diversity and the underrepresentation of women and minorities at managerial levels has received relatively little scholarly attention. The purpose of this study is to interrogate the use of the organizational value of diversity by examining how constructions of diversity and of women and ethnic and sexual minorities by senior managers working in nonprofit organizations inform discursive practices of diversity and homogeneity. We assume managers use implicit and explicit norms to differentiate among individuals and assign them to groups, and draw on various discourses to justify these categorizations and related exclusion. In this study, we explore how senior managers in nonprofit organizations construct diversity and homogeneity and create categorical groups such as women and minorities.Keywords
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- Is the ‘F’-word still dirty? A past, present and future of/for feminist and gender studies in OrganizationOrganization, 2012
- The Diversity Ideology in the Business World: A New Oppression for a New AgeCritical Sociology, 2011
- Giving Meaning to Sport Involvement in Managerial WorkGender, Work & Organization, 2011
- Taming diversity: an exploratory study on the travel of a management fashionEquality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 2010
- Merit, special contribution and choiceGender in Management: An International Journal, 2010
- Diversity – a new mode of incorporation?Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2009
- Deconstructing Diversity Discourses in the Field of Educational Management and LeadershipEducational Management Administration & Leadership, 2006
- How Many Interviews Are Enough?Field Methods, 2006
- Barriers to Managing Diversity in a UK Constabulary: The Role of DiscourseJournal of Management Studies, 2002
- MANAGEMENT FASHIONAcademy of Management Review, 1996