This article demonstrates that a diversity and equality management system (DEMS) contributes to fi rm performance beyond the effects of a traditional high-performance work system (HPWS), which consists of bundles of work practices and policies used extensively in high-performing fi rms. A DEMS typically includes diversity training and monitoring recruitment, pay, and promotion across minority or other disadvantaged groups. Our analysis of quantitative data from service and manufacturing organizations in Ireland confi rms thatHPWS practices are associated with positive business performance and fi nds specifi cally that DEMS practices are positively associated with higher labor productivity and workforce innovation and lower voluntary employee turnover.
Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18-30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women's political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women's (rather than men's) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men's higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men's leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.
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In this study, using a sample of 191 individuals with significant work and supervisory experience from four countries (China and Tanzania—highly collectivistic, India—moderately collectivistic and the United States—highly individualistic), we examined whether cultural orientations of individualism and collectivism predicted performance ratings, internal attributions made to the poor performing employee and adherence to equity norm in reward allocations. Multiple regression analyses indicated that collectivist Chinese and Tanzanian raters provided more lenient performance ratings to a poor performing employee than individualistic Americans with the Indian raters providing more lenient ratings than Americans but more stringent ratings than Chinese or Tanzanians. Further, American raters made greater internal attributions than Tanzanians or Chinese. Chinese raters made relatively greater internal attributions to the employee than Tanzanians though both cultures are collectivistic cultures. Americans adhered to the equity norm the most and Indians adhered to equity norm but to a lesser extent than Americans but more than Tanzanians and Chinese. Implications are discussed.
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