diversity
Definition
Diversity refers to organizational efforts to improve the representation, treatment, and outcomes of historically marginalized groups, operationalized through formal policies that address structural inequalities and the redistribution of opportunities, status, and power. Research in this area examines not only whether employees endorse such policies in principle but also whether they act on that endorsement, given that attitudinal and behavioral support frequently diverge. In a study of 2,639 employees in a Dutch organization, five distinct support profiles emerged from k-means clustering, ranging from consistent Champions to passive Bystanders to attitudinally skeptical Reluctants, demonstrating that responses to diversity policy are multidimensional rather than binary. Reasoning patterns identified through latent class analysis showed that employees invoke ideological endorsement, advocacy-oriented critique, meritocratic rejection, or simple unawareness when explaining their stance, and that minority-status employees were more strongly associated with advocacy and critical profiles than majority-status employees.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
Related Terms
- leadership (1 shared article)
- D&I policy (1 shared article)
- inclusion (1 shared article)
- policy support (1 shared article)
- policy resistance (1 shared article)
Applications
Diversity and Inclusion Policy Support
Support for diversity and inclusion policy encompasses both attitudinal endorsement, reflecting beliefs about a policy's fairness and credibility, and behavioral enactment, such as publicly advocating for or actively implementing initiatives. These two dimensions do not move in tandem: Bystanders report attitudinal support while remaining behaviorally passive, and Reluctants comply behaviorally despite expressing skepticism. Managerial position was associated with overrepresentation in the Champion and Reluctant profiles, while perceived minority status predicted alignment with more critical or advocacy-oriented stances.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
Diversity and Organizational Position
Organizational position, specifically whether an employee holds a managerial or non-managerial role, shapes the pattern of diversity policy engagement. Managers were overrepresented among Champions and Reluctants and underrepresented among Ambivalents and Opponents, a distribution consistent with the distinct instrumental and symbolic responsibilities that managerial roles attach to policy implementation. These positional differences suggest that motivation for supporting diversity policy is partly anchored in role-based expectations rather than personal values alone.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
Diversity and Group Membership
Perceived minority or majority group membership is associated with systematically different orientations toward diversity policy. Minority-status employees were more likely to occupy critical profiles such as Reluctants and Opponents and to produce advocacy-oriented critique in their open-ended reasoning, reflecting the greater self-relevance that such policies carry for those from historically marginalized groups. Majority-group members, by contrast, may perceive concrete diversity measures as a potential identity threat, which can produce more detached or resistant responses.
Sources: Bokern et al. (2026)
