Making sense of diversity’s complexity: Leadership’s agency for diversity management
type: CreativeWork
description: This research examines leadership’s role in their organisation’s diversity management efforts. The management of a diverse workforce in today's organisations is becoming increasingly complex. It needs to go beyond considering not only the surface-level dimensions of diversity, but also the hidden and dynamic deep-level diversity dimensions in organisations, that are considered complex systems. Surface-level diversity dimensions include gender, age, race, ethnicity, and accessibility. Deep-level diversity dimensions are the hidden values, worldviews, personality, and experiences of individuals in organisations. In today's socio-cultural context, the heightened awareness and interest in matters relating to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is driving organisations to seek ways to address how to manage their diverse workforce that will unlock the benefits that diversity has promised. Diversity management approaches that only consider surface-level dimensions are no longer adequate. To unlock further the benefits of diversity consistently in organisations today, diversity management approaches must include deep-level diversity characteristics. This shifts diversity management approaches that have managed the various surface-level diversity characteristics to approaches of managing for diversity that require an organization-wide approach. Diversity management today requires the senior leadership team to play a strategic role. As organisations adopt a more holistic and systemic approach to their diversity management efforts, it requires the leadership to strategically manage their organization’s diversity management efforts. This goes beyond the diversity initiatives such as creating policies, initiatives, events and programs that celebrate diversity to behaviours that foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. However, the strategic diversity leadership in their organisation's diversity management efforts has not been fully explored. This thesis seeks to explore two …
abstract: This research examines leadership’s role in their organisation’s diversity management efforts. The management of a diverse workforce in today's organisations is becoming increasingly complex. It needs to go beyond considering not only the surface-level dimensions of diversity, but also the hidden and dynamic deep-level diversity dimensions in organisations, that are considered complex systems. Surface-level diversity dimensions include gender, age, race, ethnicity, and accessibility. Deep-level diversity dimensions are the hidden values, worldviews, personality, and experiences of individuals in organisations. In today's socio-cultural context, the heightened awareness and interest in matters relating to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is driving organisations to seek ways to address how to manage their diverse workforce that will unlock the benefits that diversity has promised. Diversity management approaches that only consider surface-level dimensions are no longer adequate. To unlock further the benefits of diversity consistently in organisations today, diversity management approaches must include deep-level diversity characteristics. This shifts diversity management approaches that have managed the various surface-level diversity characteristics to approaches of managing for diversity that require an organization-wide approach. Diversity management today requires the senior leadership team to play a strategic role. As organisations adopt a more holistic and systemic approach to their diversity management efforts, it requires the leadership to strategically manage their organization’s diversity management efforts. This goes beyond the diversity initiatives such as creating policies, initiatives, events and programs that celebrate diversity to behaviours that foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. However, the strategic diversity leadership in their organisation's diversity management efforts has not been fully explored. This thesis seeks to explore two …
author: Chua, Shireen Wei Yuin
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/ee639b1b-3329-4a62-b056-5fcdcee120f0/download
date published: 2024
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:55Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato