Introductory description

This is an elective module available for WBS and non-WBS students.

The specific aims of the module are to allow the student to:
Think critically about management and business approaches which fail to reflect on the significance for organisational processes and outcomes of the diverse, and changing, make up of organisational members.
Understand underpinning social concepts such as stereotyping, discrimination and social identity and the way they operate inside and outside the workplace.
Understand equal treatment and diversity approaches to equality both conceptually and in terms of workplace interventions such as positive and affirmative action. Be able to locate these in the different national and cultural contexts of the UK, Europe and North America.
Apply these understandings to analyse how the understandings of difference are reproduced via both organisational processes and social institutions beyond the workplace.
This will allow students from a range of disciplines to gain an understanding of how people's experience of work differs and how managers can ensure the fair treatment of diverse workforces.
Where appropriate (e.g. psychology, social studies, economics) students will be able to apply their discipline-specific knowledge in the context of this aspect of management practice.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

This module will explore the distinct labour market outcomes and work and career experiences of members of diverse social groups - gender, ethnicity, migrant status, disability, religious belief, sexuality, social class and age.
Various explanations for the distinct labour market outcomes and work and career experiences will be considered. Theoretical ideas of social identity, impression management, doing gender, habitus and discourse will be introduced to facilitate the development of a conceptualised understand of inequalities and explanations for inequalities in the workplace. Students will be introduced to conceptual ideas of equality, diversity and inclusion focusing on both mainstream and critical perspectives. Popular diversity and inclusion interventions will be critically evaluated with reference to outcomes, process and context.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand equality, diversity and inclusion both conceptually and in terms of workplace interventions.
• Understand how people's experience of work and career outcomes differ according to gender, ethnicity, disability, age, migrant status, religion, social class and sexual identity.
• Explore theoretical frameworks that are helpful to understand diverse employeesâ distinct career outcomes and experiences of work.
• Understand stereotyping, discrimination and social identity and the way they operate inside the workplace.
• Critically examine approaches to achieving equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• Challenge simplistic explanations of inequality in the workplace.
• Critically evaluate different forms of diversity and inclusion interventions.

Indicative reading list

Ashley, L. and Empson, L., (2013) Differentiation and discrimination: Understanding social class and social exclusion in leading law firms. Human Relations. 66, 2, p. 219-244.
Cortina, L. M. (2008). Unseen injustice: Incivility as modern discrimination in organizations. The Academy of Management Review, 33, 55–62.
Deitch, E. A., Barsky, A., Butz, R. M., Chan, S. Brief, A. P. and Bradley, J. C. (2003). Subtle yet significant: The existence and impact of everyday racial discrimination in the workplace. Human Relations. 56(11), 1299–1324.
Ely, R. J. and D. A. Thomas (2001) ‘Cultural diversity at work: the effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 229–273.
Elraz, H. (2018) Identity, mental health and work: How employees with mental health conditions recount stigma and the pejorative discourse of mental illness. Human Relations 71(5): 722–741.
Fernando, W. D. A. and Prasad, A. (2018) Sex-based harassment and silencing in academia: how women are led to reluctant acquiescence. Human relations. 1-36.
Fernando, W. D. A., Cohen, L. and Duberley, J. (2018) "Navigating sexualised visibility: a study of British women engineers", Journal of Vocational Behaviour. 1-14.
Fernando, D., Cohen, L. and Duberley, J. (2018) "What helps? Women engineers’ accounts of staying on", Human Resource Management Journal, 28, 3, 479-495.
Fernando, D. and Kenny, E. (2018) "Navigating panethnic categorisation in the workplace : a study of British Sri Lankan employees", Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology , 91, 4, 769-797.
Fernando, D. and Cohen, L. (2015) "Exploring career advantages of highly skilled migrants : a study of Indian academics in the UK", The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27, 12, 1277-1298.
Gabriel, Y., Gray, D.E. and Goregaokar, H. (2010) Temporary Derailment or the End of the Line? Managers Coping with Unemployment at 50, Organization Studies 31(12), 1687–1712.
Ghumman, S. and Ryan, A.M. (2013). Not welcome here: Discrimination towards women who wear the Muslim headscarf. Human Relations. 66 (5): 671-698.
Hoque, K., Bacon, N., Wass, V. and Jones, M. (2018) "Are High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) enabling or disabling? Exploring the relationship between selected HPWPs and work-related disability disadvantage", Human Resource Management, 57, 2, 499-513.
Jammaers, E., Zanoni, P. and Hardonk, S. (2018( Constructing positive identities in ableist workplaces: Disabled employees’ discursive practices engaging with the discourse of lower productivity. Human Relations 69(6): 1365–1386.
Kulik, C.T. and Roberson, L. (2008) Diversity initiative effectiveness: What organizations can and cannot expect from diversity recruitment, diversity training, and formal mentoring programs. In A.P. Brief (Ed.), Diversity at work: 265-317. Cambridge University Press.
Kulik, C. T., Perera, S. and Cregan, C. (2016). Engage me: The mature-age worker and stereotype threat. Academy of Management Journal, 59(6), 2132–2156.
Leslie, L.M. (2018) Diversity Initiative Effectiveness: A Typological Theory of Unintended Consequences. Academy of Management Review: 1-62.
Li, Y., Perera, S., Kulik, C.T. and Metz, I. (2019) Inclusion climate: A multilevel investigation of its antecedents and consequences. Human Resource Management Review; 1–17.
Ozbilgin, M. and Tatli, A. (2011) Mapping out the field of equality and diversity: Rise of individualism and voluntarism. Human Relations, 64, (9), 1229-1253.
Powell, A., Bagilhole, B., & Dainty, A. (2009) How women engineers do and undo gender: Consequences for gender equality. Gender, Work and Organization, 16(4), 411–428.
Tatli, A. (2011) A multi-layered exploration of the diversity management field: Diversity discourses, practices and practitioners in the UK. British Journal of Management, 22, 238–253.
Thomas, D. A. (2001) The truth about mentoring minorities: Race matters. Harvard Business Review, 99—107.
Van Laer, K. and Janssens, M. (2011) Ethnic minority professionals’ experience with subtle discrimination at the workplace. Human Relations, 64, 1203—1227.
Zanoni, P. and Janssens, M. (2015) The Power of Diversity Discourses at Work: On the Interlocking Nature of Diversities and Occupations. Organisation Studies 36(11), 1463–1483.

Subject specific skills

Be aware of the relevant legislative requirements and of Equality bodies, their remit, approach, and role.
Understand how social identity related disadvantages, stereotyping and discrimination plays out in different national and cultural contexts of the UK, Europe and North America.

Transferable skills

Communication skills: summarise key arguments and evidence.