Tuesday, November 14, 2006
[IWS] ILR IMPACT BRIEFS: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: IS THERE REALLY A DIFFERENCE? [November 2006]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
ILR Impact Briefs
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/impactbrief/
The Impact Brief series highlights the research and project based work conducted by ILR faculty that is relevant to workplace issues and public policy.
BRIEF #14 / November 2006 / WWW.ILR.CORNELL.EDU
Diversity and Inclusion: Is There Really a Difference?
by QUINETTA M. ROBERSON
Professor of Human Resource Studies (ILR)
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/briefs/23/
[full-text, 3 pages]
Research Question:
Do the terms "diversity" and "inclusion" correspond to distinct sets of policies and practices that reflect organizational strategies for managing diversity?
Conclusions:
Although the two words are conceptually distinct - diversity refers to workforce demographics and observed and unobserved worker characteristics while inclusion refers to human resource initiatives that
increase employee participation and leverage workforce heterogeneity - in practice they seem to overlap. Word usage may express a rhetorical preference within organizations despite some evidence suggesting the two terms describe subtly different approaches to diversity management.
Workplace impact:
Regardless which term organizations adopt, the findings highlight the importance of demographic diversity in combination with policies and practices that promote fair treatment, collaboration, and empowerment. The attributes of diversity and inclusion identified through this study can help managers specify strategies and techniques that could enhance their diversity and inclusion practices. The instrument developed for this research can also be used to assess how employees perceive diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
AND MUCH MORE....
For a related working paper, see--
Roberson, Q. M. (2004). Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion (CAHRS Working Paper #04-05). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies.
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrswp/12
Suggested Citation
Roberson, Q. M. (2006). Diversity and inclusion: Is there really a difference? (ILR Impact Brief #14). Ithaca, NY: School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University.
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/briefs/23/
[ILR Impact Briefs are written and/or edited by Maralyn Edid]
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
ILR Impact Briefs
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/impactbrief/
The Impact Brief series highlights the research and project based work conducted by ILR faculty that is relevant to workplace issues and public policy.
BRIEF #14 / November 2006 / WWW.ILR.CORNELL.EDU
Diversity and Inclusion: Is There Really a Difference?
by QUINETTA M. ROBERSON
Professor of Human Resource Studies (ILR)
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/briefs/23/
[full-text, 3 pages]
Research Question:
Do the terms "diversity" and "inclusion" correspond to distinct sets of policies and practices that reflect organizational strategies for managing diversity?
Conclusions:
Although the two words are conceptually distinct - diversity refers to workforce demographics and observed and unobserved worker characteristics while inclusion refers to human resource initiatives that
increase employee participation and leverage workforce heterogeneity - in practice they seem to overlap. Word usage may express a rhetorical preference within organizations despite some evidence suggesting the two terms describe subtly different approaches to diversity management.
Workplace impact:
Regardless which term organizations adopt, the findings highlight the importance of demographic diversity in combination with policies and practices that promote fair treatment, collaboration, and empowerment. The attributes of diversity and inclusion identified through this study can help managers specify strategies and techniques that could enhance their diversity and inclusion practices. The instrument developed for this research can also be used to assess how employees perceive diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
AND MUCH MORE....
For a related working paper, see--
Roberson, Q. M. (2004). Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion (CAHRS Working Paper #04-05). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies.
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrswp/12
Suggested Citation
Roberson, Q. M. (2006). Diversity and inclusion: Is there really a difference? (ILR Impact Brief #14). Ithaca, NY: School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University.
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/briefs/23/
[ILR Impact Briefs are written and/or edited by Maralyn Edid]
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 10:59 AM
