Assessing diversity climate: A field study of reactions to employer efforts to promote diversity

Abstract

Based on intergroup theory, this study examined relationships among group characteristics (racioethnicity, gender, and level), contextual organizational unit characteristics (gender and racioethnic heterogeneity, resource support for women and racioethnic minorities) and perceptions of diversity climate by faculty at a large university. Compared to white men, white women and racioethnic minorities placed greater value on employer efforts to promote diversity, and held more favorable attitudes about the qualifications of women and racioethnic minorities. The study found that group rather than contextual organizational unit characteristics were more strongly related to diversity climate. However, the organizational unit characteristic, gender heterogeneity, was significantly related to valuing diversity. The greater the ratio of women in a unit, regardless of the respondents' gender, racioethnicity or level, the more favorable diversity activities were viewed. In addition, units whose allocation of resources to racioethnic minorities were perceived as insufficient by respondents were more likely to have members who valued diversity and held favorable perceptions toward the qualifications of racioethnic minorities. Implications for organizations and future research are offered.Responding to projections that 85 per cent of the new entrants to the U. S. labor force during the 1990's will be female, minority or immigrant (Johnson and Packer, 1987), many firms have increased their emphasis on hiring, promoting, and retaining individuals of ethnically, racially, and gender diverse backgrounds. Toward this end, organizations have instituted multicultural training and activities to modify organizational systems and address root causes of institutional racism and sexism (cf. Thomas, 1990;Cox, 1991a). Typically, multicultural efforts seek to enhance relations between members of different ethnic and racial groups by finding ways to sensitize ' Order of authorship is alphabetical as the contribution of both authors to this paper was approximately equal.We wish to thank Robin Ely, Manfred Stommel, Clayton P. Alderfer, and several anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.

The Benefits of Climate for Inclusion for Gender-Diverse Groups

“…This makes individuals' membership in the normative in-group versus out-group salient and informative for interpersonal dynamics. Although this dimension is similar to some prior conceptualizations of diversity climate that also focus on the fairness of organizational practices (e.g., Gilbert & Ones, 1999;Hegarty & Dalton, 1995;Hicks-Clarke & Iles, 2000;Kossek & Zonia, 1993;, the construct of climate for inclusion is broader in scope, as the next two dimensions illustrate. As mentioned previously, creating inclusive climates requires more than increasing diverse representation and implementing equitable human resources (HR) practices; it requires a change in interaction patterns.…”

Gender diversity policies in universities: a multi-perspective framework of policy measures

“…Most studies do not measure the quantitative result of gender equality initiatives in terms of the increase in the number of women, but instead study the reactions of men and women towards these policies (for example : Aberson 2007;Beaton and Tougas 2001;Dainty et al 2001;Kossek and Zonia 1993), the perceptions of workplace diversity (for example: De Meuse and Hostager 2001; Hicks-Clarke and Iles 2000), or the perceptions of the effect of gender equality policy on women (for example : Camp et al 1997). Studies that do consider quantitative effects are limited.…”

Transformational Leadership, Diversity, and Creativity at Work: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…a number of different reasons, and the success of these efforts often depends on the broader context of the organization, i.e., diversity climate (Kossek & Zonia, 1993;Rynes & Rosen, 1995). Diversity climate has been defined in the literature as employees' shared perceptions (at the organizational or team level) of the degree to which the organization demonstrates that it values diversity within the workplace (McKay, Avery, & Morris, 2008;Mor Barak, Cherin, & Berkman, 1998;Rotundo, Nguyen, & Sackett, 2001).…”