Campus Free Speech in Polarised Times

Tensions around open expression at universities in the United States and around the world arise mainly from two sources. Campus members increasingly call to restrict hurtful and hate-based speech, and demand silencing, ‘cancelling’ or ‘de-platforming’ outside speakers and campus members who espouse extreme ideological views. At the same time, public and political actors from outside the university attempt to undermine its independence by demanding greater voice to conservative speakers, in an effort to rebalance the ideological makeup of the university. Inclusive freedom – an approach that focuses on ways to promote both open expression and an inclusive climate in contemporary universities – is presented as a theoretical and a practical response to these tensions. Inclusive freedom is anchored in the university’s core mission, bounded by its educational and research goals, and reflects a practical commitment to allowing everyone to participate in an open exchange, which starts from all participants recognising their equal standing and dignity.

The Role of Inclusive Leadership in Supporting an Inclusive Climate in Diverse Public Sector Teams

In organizations with a diverse workforce, inclusive leadership is assumed to be required to support the full appreciation and participation of diverse members. To date, studies identifying how leadership enables an inclusive climate in diverse teams are scarce. The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine how inclusive leadership fosters inclusiveness in diverse teams. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 293 team members clustered in 45 public sector teams using structural equation modeling. The results showed that inclusive leadership positively moderates the negative relation between team ethnic–cultural diversity and inclusive climate. This study shows that greater team diversity does not automatically yield an inclusive climate. Inclusive leadership is needed to support an inclusive climate in which different team members are valued for what they bring to work practices. Inclusive leadership is crucial for fostering inclusiveness in diverse teams. Limitations are discussed and recommendations for future research are proposed.

Inclusive workplace and organizational citizenship behavior

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employees’ perception of an inclusive workplace, namely, inclusive practices, inclusive climate and inclusive leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). It also attempts to examine the difference in perception toward the inclusive workplace along the three major dimensions of diversity, namely, gender, category they belong to and their religious orientation. Design/methodology/approach Non-probability sampling technique is employed to collect primary data through a self-administered questionnaire from 492 academicians of a higher education institution situated in western Uttar Pradesh of India. The data set was analyzed using statistical tools like descriptive statistics (z-test and ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis. Findings Results of the multiple regression analysis reflected direct and significant relationship between inclusive workplace and OCB. It has been observed that organizations with a conducive climate of inclusion, a well formulated inclusive practices and strong leaders’ commitment will result into high level of OCB which is apparent among employees working in a higher education institution western Uttar Pradesh. The results of z-test reflected that male and female employees have similar perception toward inclusive climate. However, there is a significant difference in perception toward inclusive practices and inclusive leadership on OCB. On the other hand, results of ANOVA reflected that with respect to religious orientation there is no significant difference among perceptions toward inclusive workplace. However in case of category employees have similar perception toward inclusive climate in contrast with inclusive practices and inclusive leadership. Research limitations/implications The present study established the concept of inclusive workplace, entirely on the basis of individual viewpoint. While to examine the cause and effect relationship of an inclusive workplace on OCB, it is recommended to incorporate some moderating or intervening variables. Practical implications This study provides guidelines for academic institutions to understand and foster an inclusive workplace that will encourage the academicians to exhibit OCB. Originality/value Very little research had examined the relationship between inclusive workplace and OCB. This research will add value to the existing literature on inclusive workplace and its probable impact on organizations and individuals by examining this relationship with respect to gender, category and religious orientation of employees working in higher educational institution of India.