Organizational Diversity Kat Eun, Heather Goldstein and Morgan Ilaw

Being different might feel like a problem at the time, but ultimately diversity is a strength.

- Carson Kressley

Organizational Diversity  Diversity adds value to competitive advantage by  Generating fresh ideas  Stimulating non-obvious alternatives  Create wider perspectives/point of views

Background  According to the United States Department of Labor, women represented 48.5% of the labor force in 2013

The Effects of Organizational Demographics and Social Identity on Relationships among Professional Women Robin J. Elvy Harvard University

Main concepts Social identity – A person’s sense of who they are based on their group memberships

Women’s gender identity –refers to the meaning women attach to their membership of the category “female”

 Positive comparison = strong relationships between women  Negative comparison= may interfere with development of constructive relationships

Hypotheses  Purpose is to address questions about relationships among women at work

 Hypotheses:  Junior women in firms with few women in senior positions (male-dominated firms) will be more critical of senior women than will junior women in firms with relatively high proportion of senior women (i.e. sex integrated firms)  Junior women in male-dominated firms will characterize more of their relationships with women peers as competitive and less supportive than those in sex-integrated firms

Sample  Type of firms:  Sex-integrated – 4 firms  At least 15% of partners were women

 Male-dominated – 4 firms  No more than 5% were women partners

 30 participants, all women attorneys  15 from sex-integrated firms  15 form male-dominated firms  All white

Methodology  Mix-modal

 Interviews  History, data, personal information, women’s relationship with coworkers, relational map

 Content Analysis  Developed 7 categories from analysis

 Questionnaires  Based on 7 codes  Asked questions to corroborated answers

Results Male-dominated Sex-intergrated

Hierarchal relationships

Rated women partners negatively

Rated women partners more favorably

Positive gender identification

More likely to criticize women partners for acting like men

Identified with women partners through bonds and mutual understanding/sharing experiences

Legitimacy of authority

Obtained partnership illegitimate strategy

Achieved partnership because they earned it

Women partners as role models

Criticize women partners for being poor role models

Praised women partners as being good role models

Peer relationships Rated women associates more negatively

Overall attitudes more positive

Competitiveness Competiveness inhibits ability to work together

Competitiveness does not inhibit work ability

Supportiveness No supportive relationships with peers

Supportive relationships with peers

Conclusion  Social identity plays a role in relationships among women in workplace

 Women positions at top affected perceptions of women associates (either negatively or positively)

 Nature of identification with other women impacted by representation of women at top

Limitations  Relational not causal

 Potential confounding variables

 Small sample size

 Social desirability

Racial Diversity, Business Strategy, and Firm Performance: A Resource-Based View

Orlando C. Richard

Main concepts  Cultural Diversity – the representation, in one social system, of people with different group affiliations of cultural significance.

 Value-in-Diversity Hypothesis – Racial diversity benefits decision making

Hypotheses  H1: Racial diversity is positively correlated with firm performance.

 H2: Having a business strategy will impact how racial diversity impacts firm performance.  Growth ~ Positive effect  Downsizing ~ Negative effect

Methods  63 banks  California (76%)  Kentucky (15%)  North Carolina (9%)

 IVs: Racial diversity; Strategy (growth, downsizing)

 DVs: Employee productivity Return on equity Employees’ report on org’s performance

Results  H1: Racial diversity is positively correlated with firm performance.  NOT SUPPORTED: Prerequisite, but not sufficient.

 H2: Having a business strategy will impact how racial diversity impacts firm performance.  SUPPORTED:

Results  High productivity; High return on equity  Growth strategy  High racial diversity

 Low productivity  Downsizing strategy  High racial diversity

Limitations  Generalizability

 Failed to consider demographic differences

 Only tested entire organizations

So what does this all mean?  Better understand competition within groups

 Facilitate productive organizational conditions

 Diversity management is imperative to enhance workplace

 Organizational leaders should be aware of their company’s current state and future vision when deciding how to implement diversity

Final Questions  How can the social identity theory be applied racial and ethnic minorities? How do you think the results would change from this study with women?

 How can managers effectively promote and manage cultural diversity in the workplace?