Rationales of gender diversity management policies and practices in India: an exploratory empirical study in the Indian IT/ITeS industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 667-688
Author(s):  
Shreyashi Chakraborty ◽  
Leena Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Policies And Practices

PurposeThe Indian context is marked with weak anti-discrimination laws and patchy implementation of protection of civil rights of women at workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to unearth the rationales of the adoption of gender diversity management policies and practices in India, in the absence of laws and regulations.Design/methodology/approachInspiration is drawn from previous studies on diversity management in other national contexts, and a survey methodology was adopted. The lead researcher administered the questionnaires personally to all respondents to ensure that the understanding of the questions is uniform across respondents as gender diversity management is a relatively new concept in India.FindingsSize of the organisation (number of full-time employees), the influence of external organisations and perceived enhanced organisational flexibility were found to explain the adoption of gender diversity management policies and practices in the Indian IT/ITeS industry. Findings also indicate that Indian subsidiaries of foreign multinationals tend to adopt more gender diversity management policies and practices as compared to Indian-owned organisations.Research implicationsThis study provides evidence that organisations do not always enact structures or behaviours in the pursuit of normative rationality and also consider the economic value of them, establishing an organisational agency in adopting legitimated norms or practices. The study also shows that gender diversity management policies and practices are not only dependent on the enactment of laws but also are adopted because of the economic benefit perceived.Originality/valueDiversity management policies and practices have been mostly studied in national contexts with anti-discrimination laws or affirmative action programs and have been claimed to be a successor of equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies. In the absence of stringent laws to reduce or eliminate discrimination against women employees in Indian workplaces, this study contributes to the literature by determining whether the business case for gender diversity drives the adoption of gender diversity management in the Indian context.

Gender diversity and innovation in mining – a corpus-based discourse analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Fältholm ◽  
Cathrine Norberg
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Patterns ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to gain increased knowledge about gender diversity and innovation in mining by analyzing how women are discursively represented in relation to these two concepts, and in doing so establish how diversity management is received and communicated in the industry. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on analysis of texts including references to gender diversity and innovation in mining found on the web. The tool used to retrieve the data has been WebCorpLive, a tool designed for linguistic analysis of web material. Findings Although increased female representation is communicated as a key component in the diversity management discourse, based on the idea that diversity increases innovation and creativity, closer analysis of texts on diversity and innovation in mining shows that what women are expected to contribute with has little explicit connection with innovation. Research limitations/implications The study contributes with increased knowledge about diversity management by providing an example of how it is received in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Practical implications The findings indicate that for diversity management to have a real effect in mining, it needs to be based on gender equality and social justice motives, rather than on a business case rationale – the principal motive today. To enable this change, stereotypical gender patterns, as shown in this study, need to be made visible and problematized among policy makers, practitioners and actors on all levels of the industry. Originality value The study contributes with new knowledge about gender in the mining industry previously not attended to by using a method which so far has been sparsely used in discourse analysis, although pointed out as promising.

scholarly journals The complex concept of sustainable of diversity management

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 45-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Best ◽  
Alistair Soyode ◽  
Michael Muller-Camen ◽  
Andrew Boff
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Television Station ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Management Policies

Purpose – Explores the notion of sustainable diversity-management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Summarizes research into the sustainability of diversity management across four countries and provides examples of efforts to maintain high levels of diversity. Findings – Looks at the activities of Africa House, an organization that develops business links with Africa, and of Bright Entertainment Network (BEN) Television, which is a television station that caters primarily for ethnic minorities. Social implications – Highlights the complexity of diversity and so the difficulty of legislating in this area. Originality/value – Explains that employees can also stifle attempts to engage in sustainable diversity management policies. A lack of understanding of local laws or language, or through limited social contacts, can prevent full participation by employees.

Workforce diversity and organizational performance: a study of IT industry in India

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhash C. Kundu ◽  
Archana Mor
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
It Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee perceptions of diversity (i.e. significance of diversity and diversity management, and value of diversity practices employed) and perceived organizational performance. It also attempts to examine whether the perceptions of diversity vary among employees from different diversity backgrounds (i.e. across gender and categories) in Indian IT industry. Design/methodology/approach Primary data based on 402 respondents were analysed using statistical tools like factor analysis, correlations, analysis of variance, means, grand means, and regression. Findings Results indicated that employees irrespective of their diversity backgrounds positively acknowledged diversity and diversity management. However, limited but significant differences were observed among employee perceptions regarding valuing the diversity practices employed based on their diversity backgrounds. Further, employees’ perception of promotion of gender diversity was found to be positively related to perceived organizational performance. Research limitations/implications This paper relied on self-report surveys for data collection. Future studies should collect data using multiple methods to avoid common-method bias. As the sample was drawn from India, specifically from IT industry, the conclusions may not be generalized to other industries. Future studies may be conducted across industries covering different cultural settings. Practical implications Implications are first, that, in addition to investing in initiatives for promoting diversity, especially gender diversity, organizations need to ensure positive perceptibility of these initiatives by employees. Second, to foster acceptance and effectiveness of gender/diversity initiatives in organizations, managers need to ensure men and majority group employees are part of these initiatives. Third, IT industry needs to reassess their hiring strategies and should design diversity programmes with goals in mind, if not quotas, to hire and retain diverse employees to explore their potential contribution. Originality/value Inclusion of employees of Indian IT industry of different categories will definitely add value to the existing knowledge on diversity, management theory, and practice.

Gender diversity in employees and discretionary accruals: the Korean evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Ah Kim ◽  
Seok Woo Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Information Quality ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Discretionary Accruals ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Female Executives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Part Time

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relation between gender diversity in employees and earnings quality. Specifically, how gender diversity among full-time and part-time employees is associated with discretionary accruals in Korea is examined. Design/methodology/approach The author analyzes the association between women ratio among full-time (part-time) employees and discretionary accruals by using 3,687 firm-years of Korean listed companies from 2010 to 2012. The regression model used in Barua et al. (2010) is adopted. The dependent variables, the absolute value of discretionary accruals, are proxied by the Modified Jones Model of Dechow et al. (1995) and the Performance Matched Model of Kothari et al. (2005). Findings First, a higher ratio of women among full-time workers is related to lower discretionary accruals, whereas that of part-time female employees is not related to discretionary accruals. Second, the effect of gender diversity in employees varies depending on the possibility of earnings management. Third, the results are robust with sample firm-years without female executives, thereby suggesting that the results are not driven by the existence of female executives, and robust to accounting standards and firm-year clustering. Originality/value This paper expands the understanding about the determination of discretionary accruals by demonstrating the impact of full-time female employees on earnings quality. Previous studies demonstrated that female workers are more ethical in the workplace, and the quality of accounting information disclosed by firms with female CFOs or directors, i.e. high ranking officers, is higher. It is observed that accounting information quality is higher when firms simply have more female workers, regardless of their relative position in the firm. This complements the results of previous studies and indicates gender diversity among employees is a sign of accounting information quality.

Translating a management concept: diversity management in Denmark

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 426-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Risberg ◽  
Anne‐Marie Søderberg
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Societal Context ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Management Concept

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how the concept of diversity management is translated and adapted into the Danish societal context. The authors therefore seek to answer these questions: to what extent do larger Danish companies experience a need to practice diversity management? Do they also have specific diversity policies? And how do these Danish companies discursively construct and manage diversity?Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed 100 Danish firms and performed a discourse analysis of two frontrunner firms' diversity documents.FindingsThe Danish firms in the survey experienced a need for diversity management, but were somewhat reluctant to introduce diversity policies. The two frontrunner firms drew on a discourse of diversity as a business case intertwined with a discourse of social responsibility with focus on helping minority groups having difficulties accessing the job market. The findings indicate that concepts must be translated for the local context in order to be accepted by local actors.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should look closer into local practices of diversity management to increase understanding of how this seemingly universal management concept is translated.Originality/valueDanish society, which until recently was relatively homogeneous, forms a specific cultural context for diversity management that differs significantly from American and British multicultural societies.

(Mis)managing diversity: exploring the dangers of diversity management orthodoxy

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Knights ◽  
Vedran Omanović
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
White Male ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Corporate Diversity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to challenge the dominance of the mainstream discourse and practice of diversity management (DM) by identifying and problematizing three distinct but related issues that it encompasses: first, its tendency to displace all alternative approaches; second, its general neglect of the social-historical context and third, its almost exclusive focus on the business case rationale for supporting diversity. Design/methodology/approach – Employing ethnographic research methods, the empirical material was collected in an international manufacturing corporation based in Sweden. It consists of three different, but interconnected approaches: archival research, interviews and observations. Findings – The paper shows that in neglecting power, identity, intersectionality and the changing socio-historical context of diversity, a well-meaning corporate diversity programme tended to obscure ethnic and age-related disadvantages at work. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this research relate largely to its dependence on a single case study and the limited focus on diversity as it affected able-bodied, white male immigrant workers. A broader study of the multiplicity of types of discrimination and ways in which diversity is managed in a range of countries and organizations could facilitate a more in-depth exploration of these issues and arguments. Originality/value – Although not entirely new, the three arguments that have been drawn upon to discuss, analyse and illustrate DM through our data have rarely been brought together in one theoretical and empirical study.

Women at the Top

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol T. Kulik ◽  
Isabel Metz
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Mediating Mechanisms

There is now an international agenda to increase women’s representation at the top of organizations. This agenda is driven in part by a business case arguing that gender diversity brings value, particularly economic value, to organizations. In this article, we review the empirical evidence linking women’s representation in senior leadership roles to countable, verifiable organizational outcomes (e.g., organizational financial performance, practices, and demographics). We consider women’s impact when they are CEOs, directors on corporate boards, members of the top management team, and managers. We conclude that women at the top have an impact on organizational outcomes, but this impact is more visible on organizational practices and organizational demography than on financial performance. We recommend that researchers studying the gender-performance link at the organizational level make their theoretical perspectives explicit, distinguish among mediating mechanisms, be selective in their outcome choices, and increase their emphasis on contextual moderators.

Latin America's management gender parity will be slow

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Outcomes ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Gender Parity ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Economic Trends ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Female Presence

Subject Women's representation in management and company boards. Significance While reports show that women in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are increasingly taking on more management roles, these rarely extend to the highest positions of leadership, including board positions. Growing evidence links women’s representation in these senior leadership positions to improved business outcomes. Impacts High rates of women’s workforce participation may help to offset economic trends that threaten to boost poverty. Gender parity is rising, but many obstacles to an increased female presence in senior management persist. Shareholders will seek more gender diversity in management as the business case for gender diversity builds.

Diversity in India: addressing caste, disability and gender

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-596
Author(s):  
Rana Haq ◽  
Alain Klarsfeld ◽  
Angela Kornau ◽  
Faith Wambura Ngunjiri
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Diversity ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Equality And Diversity ◽  
Country Specific

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the diversity and equality perspectives from the national context of India and introduce a special issue about equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in India.Design/methodology/approachThis special issue consists of six articles on current EDI issues in India. The first three of the contributions are focused on descriptions of diversity challenges and policies regarding caste and disabilities, while the remaining three papers address gender diversity.FindingsIn addition to providing an overview of this issue's articles, this paper highlights developments and current themes in India's country-specific equality and diversity scholarship. Drawing on the special issue's six papers, the authors show the relevance of Western theories while also pointing to the need for reformulation of others in the context of India.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors conclude with a call to further explore diversity in India and to develop locally relevant, culture-sensitive theoretical frameworks. Religious and economic diversity should receive more attention in future diversity management scholarship in the Indian context.Originality/valueHow does India experience equality and diversity concepts? How are India's approaches similar or different from those experienced in other countries? How do theoretical frameworks originated in the West apply in India? Are new, locally grounded frameworks needed to better capture the developments at play? These questions are addressed by the contributions to this special issue.

Diversity and firm performance: role of corporate ethics

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves-Rose Porcena ◽  
K. Praveen Parboteeah ◽  
Neal P. Mero
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Corporate Ethics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Websites ◽  
Ethics Research ◽  
Repeated Calls ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeEmpirical evidence concerning the relationship between diversity and firm performance continues to produce mixed results that are context-dependent (Guillaume et al., 2017). Additionally, little is known about the relationship between workplace diversity management and corporate ethics and whether diversity management is a contextual factor to consider in ethics research. This study assesses whether diversity management's contributions to firm performance are maximized through its effects on the firm's ethical processes. This paper examines three manifestations of diversity management (diversity recruitment, diversity staffing, and valuing diversity) and their relationship with firm performance as mediated by internal and external ethics.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a sample from the Fortune 500 list of companies. The variables were constructed using several relevant indicators and applied to archival data collected from corporations' websites. The hypotheses on the relationship among diversity management, corporate ethics, and firm performance were tested using regression from the data gathered on 109 firms.FindingsThe analysis indicated that diversity management relates to both aspects of corporate ethics (internal and external ethics) but that only external ethics relate to firm performance. Results also found that external ethics partially mediate the relationship between diversity management and firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThere are limitations to using corporate websites as sources of data. Furthermore, the research design assumed that diversity is an antecedent of ethics. Nevertheless, the findings convincingly demonstrate that diversity management has a strong positive relationship with both aspects of corporate ethics. Recommendations for further research are offered.Practical implicationsThe paper shows the value of diversity management and its impact on corporate ethics. Knowing that diversity management efforts contribute positively beyond their intended purpose may encourage managers to continue or implement such efforts, which could lead to more diverse and ethical workplaces and increased firm performance.Originality/valueThe paper addresses critical gaps in research and responds to repeated calls for studies integrating the business case for workplace diversity with its moral imperative (Alder and Gilbert, 2006; van Dijk et al., 2012; Yang and Konrad, 2011). The paper also provides evidence of a link from diversity management to firm performance through external ethics.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document