Strategic themes within HRM imply an organisational commitment towards the full deployment of all employees in order to meet business goals and objectives. The rhetoric of equality within HRM has been challenged but these discussions have typically focused on gender issues, ignoring ethnicity, culture and religion. Individuals' social group cultures and other cultural and religious aspects have been largely absent in HR literature. By examining ethnic minority women's struggles to fit into white Western organisations, this article seeks to provide a discussion on an area where limited research has been conducted. Our emphasis is placed on organisational expectations in relation to ethnic minority women's demonstrated behaviours and appearance, the latter being expressed through dressing, hairstyles and mannerisms. The empirical data show that ethnic minority women are often required to fit into the existing culture if they want to penetrate influential networks or be given opportunities for career development and advancement. Extending the critique of others who argue that organisations must move away from the existing male‐dominant culture rather than expecting women to move towards it, we contend that management must also acknowledge and better understand religious and cultural differences instead of requiring ethnic minority women to fit into a narrow mono‐culture. The article concludes with a discussion of human resource implications for organisations engaged in diversity management.
Purpose-The objective of this paper is to explore corporate communications related to climate change in both a voluntary and mandatory setting. Adopting a critical perspective, the paper examines how companies who participated in the voluntary UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) and the UK Government's mandatory Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) positioned themselves within the climate change debate. In particular, our analysis draws attention to how companies, through their communicative practice, helped to constitute and reproduce the structure of the field in which they operate. Design/Methodology/Approach-A context-sensitive discursive analysis of 99 standalone reports produced by companies participating in the UK ETS and CRC over a nineyear period. Our analysis is informed by Thompson's (1990) depth-hermeneutic framework, which mediates the connection between linguistic strategies and the institutional field. Findings-Our analysis suggests that companies tended to adopt particular linguistic strategies in their communications related to climate change. For example, the strategy of 'rationalization' was employed in order to emphasise the organisational 'opportunities' resulting from climate change; in this sense, companies sought to exploit climate crises in order to advance a doctrine that endorsed market-based solutions. A noteworthy finding was that in the mandatory CRC period, there was a notable shift towards the employment of the strategies that Thompson (1990) refers to as 'differentiation'-whereby companies attempted to displace responsibility by presenting either government or suppliers as barriers to progress. Originality/Value-This paper explores how disclosure on climate change evolved while organisations participate in voluntary and compulsory climate change initiatives. In this respect, the analysis is informed by the social and political context in which the disclosure was produced.
IntroductionCalls for continued research regarding the racial dynamics of consumption and market processes highlight gaps in our understanding of how racial subjectivities are experienced in virtual spaces (Grier, Thomas and Johnson 2019;Lindridge, Henderson and Ekpo 2015). Our work examines nuances of the online experiences of Black women in Britain, who are structurally marginalised amidst British mass-media and society. This paper builds upon work which elucidates the role of digital technology and online consumption communities in navigating marketplace discrimination (Ekpo, DeBerry-Spence, Henderson and Cherian 2018; Scaraboto and Fischer 2013). It unpacks internet activity concerning under-researched and transnational elements of online Black public spheres. In doing so, this work engages with tensions between the resistant and commercial potential of online content created by Black women, who marketers increasingly identify as digital trendsetters (Nielsen 2017a). Prior research illuminates the existence of a vibrant Black online presence. Related work outlines digital discourse which is distinctly shaped by Black women (Bailey and Trudy 2018; Cottom 2016; Gray 2016; Jackson 2016), who experience intersectional forms of structural oppression such as the overlapping effects of both sexism and racism (Brock, Kvasny and Hales 2010; Crenshaw 2017). In particular, research about the experiences of Black people in the US is testament to the socio-Sobande, F., Fearfull, A., and Brownlie, D. (Forthcoming, 2019) "Resisting media marginalisation: Black women's digital content and collectivity"to be published in Consumption Markets & Culture. cultural significance of their digital encounters and online dialogue to do with Black lives. Although such work is occurring (Gabriel 2016; Sobande 2017), there has been comparatively scarce scholarly attention paid to the online experiences of Black people in Britain, let alone Black women specifically. Following robust research on Black online content and community (Brock ), this paper positions Black women in Britain as being part of a global and digitally-connected Black experience, albeit one that is not monolithic or accessible to all Black people. Through analysis of aspects of 23 interviews, this paper examines meaning-making in online settings that can be a source of Black women's resistance, as well as leaving their digital commentary exposed to corporate co-optation. Such discussion is framed in relation to transnational Black digital dynamics (Everett 2009), through which Black women in Britain engage with conversations and cultural references stemming from the US. This work is steered by the overarching question: how are issues regarding race, Black community and digital content implicated in experiences of media and marketplace marginalisation and resistance? Our paper procedes with writing about racial identities and inequalities in the marketplace, as well as the concept of the oppositional gaze (hooks 1992) and discussion of Black digital contexts (Brock
This paper contributes to an under-researched area through investigating employers' perceptions of ethnic minority women in the Scottish labour market. Adopting a social constructionist approach which acknowledges agency and structure and incorporates insights relating to organizational and social group culture, the study highlights the influence of individual (micro), organizational (meso) and contextual (macro) factors on ethnic minority women's participation in the labour market. The paper is based on qualitative research involving Scottish employers in the public and private sectors to examine perceptions and practices related to the employment of ethnic minority women. Institutional commitment to equality issues is questioned, although individual instances of engagement with key equality issues were sometimes evident. Proactive recruitment strategies and career support for ethnic minority women and men were not in evidence, and there was low awareness of the unique position of ethnic minority women in employment and society. We argue that these findings call for a multi-level approach to advancing human resources management policy, practice and research within a wider socio-political environment in which the responsibilities and duties of public sector organizations are clarified and more support is provided for organizational promotion of equal opportunities.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to introduce the contexts in which this special issue developed, along with the wider context in which research such as that included is conducted. It is believed that without the persistence of researchers in this field, the situation would be even worse. Design/methodology/approach -Papers were selected from those submitted following a call for papers which went out after the Inaugural Equal Opportunities International Conference held at the University of East Anglia in July 2008. Two of the selected papers use qualitative, and two use quantitative, methodologies. The research was conducted in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Each seeks to develop theory based upon fresh empirical work. Findings -Compelling evidence provides insight to ways in which majority and minority ethnic employees experience organizations differently, along with the resultant differential outcomes, including career paths, quality and opportunities. Research limitations/implications -This paper maintains that each paper in this special issue (within its own context and as it currently stands) represents a robust example of qualitative or quantitative research in the field. Practical implications -From the evidence of each paper published here, it is clear that academics and practitioners alike will gain insights to employer and employee behaviours at the level of the labour market and within the workplace itself. Such insights should encourage further action on the part of both. Employers should be prompted to review their polices and practices in the light of antidiscriminatory legislation in such a way as to minimize discrimination therein. Social implications -This paper draws attention to matters of persistent inequality which remain so even in enlightened times wherein quite extensive legislation is in place to outlaw such inequality. As such, the guest editors would like to see, as a result of both academics and practitioners reading the work within this, and all other, editions of the journal, concerted efforts, in the case of the former, to continue to conduct and disseminate high-profile research in the area of discrimination and equal opportunity, and, in the latter, to address their policies and practices. In the latter context, the guest editors would like to see an impact on public and private employment policies and the seriousness with which corporate social responsibility is undertaken. In that respect, public attitudes might eventually be seen to be changing for the more equitable. Originality/value -The paper brings together the findings of four different pieces of original research in such a way as to demonstrate the commitment of researchers to addressing inequality in today's workplaces, which themselves continue to be inequitable.
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