Guest editors :
- Professor Maria-Giuseppina Bruna, HDR, full professor, Management & CSR, IPAG Business School, Paris
- Professor Olivier Meier, HDR, professor, Université Paris Est, Paris Dauphine and Sciences Po Paris
- Professor Sophie Brière, full professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Université Laval and director of the EDI2 Institute
- Dr. Christian Makaya, teacher-researcher, Ascencia Business School, Paris
- Loïc Fourot, permanent lecturer, Ascencia Business School, Paris
For some fifteen years now, diversity management has been promoting inclusion with a view to offering a more comprehensive vision of diversity in all its forms. Inclusion is a major challenge for organizations (Bruna et al., 2018; Cassel et al., 2022). It requires profound changes to the running of an organization in order to facilitate employee integration and to improve working conditions (Moon, 2018). Although inclusion has no universal definition (Chung et al., 2020), it has increasingly come to mean implementing certain managerial processes and strategies to increase not only the presence and training of minorities but also the efficiency of an organization by recognizing cultural and lifestyle differences as much as possible (Oswick & Noon, 2014; Laïchour & Chanlat, 2020; Adamson et al, 2021).
Deadline for submissions: September 30, 2024
You can upload you manuscript directly on our platform through the following link.
Submissions may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Moving from diversity management to inclusion
Some confusion remains on the differences between diversity management and inclusion (Murphy, 2018). Diversity management takes a legalistic approach to the different demographics that are discriminated against. To dissociate inclusion from diversity, we should further examine what each of these concepts means.
- Measuring inclusion
Inclusion should be measured either as a prerequisite for action or as a means to judge the effectiveness of existing measures. The issue is still debated in France despite clarifications, notably by the Défenseur des droits (opinion n°18-20 on article 61 of the PACTE bill on business growth and transformation). How, and for what purposes, can we draw inspiration from international experiences in measuring workforce inclusion (Chung et al., 2020; Rezai et al., 2020)?
- Does inclusive management mean valuing all forms of diversity?
Despite the incredibly diverse forms of diversity, recent studies still focus overwhelmingly on gender and, to a lesser extent, on disability (Garg et al., 2021). What other forms should be the focus of inclusion research? Or should the focus be on group membership, whatever the minorities involved (Lachapelle et al., 2022)? What about the intersectional approach? In other words, should we consider the unpredictable effects that may arise from a combination of different systems of oppression (Collins & Bilge, 2020)?
- What are the driving forces for inclusive behaviours and leadership?
Models are emerging to describe inclusive managerial skills (Barth, 2018) that tap into the dynamics of inclusion rather than those of exclusion (Bernstein et al., 2020; Shore & Chung, 2023). While these models are promising, inclusion is also driven by dynamics other than those of social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Because the interpersonal behaviours of staff and managers are central to the inclusion system (Ferdman & Dean, 2014), how do unconscious biases and inclusive behaviours (Brière et al, 2022) affect organizational inequalities and inclusion?
- What is the role of the top management team in inclusive management, and what are the benefits of bringing them into the picture?
Inclusion policies seem to succeed to the extent that they enjoy top-level support, either through creation of a shared vision or through day-to-day involvement in actions (Moore et al., 2010). In particular, we should better document the link between the effectiveness of inclusion policies and how they are supported.
- Toward an inclusive organization?
With the increasing openness of higher education to categories of students who, in previous times, were usually marginalized, learning environments are being adjusted to prepare every learner for optimal success (Araujo et al., 2022). How can a company or professional organization draw inspiration from these practices and thus meet the goals of a diversity audit (Klarsfeld & Tati, 2012; Bruna, 2016)? Beyond training courses that address human biases, particularly in recruitment, what other initiatives and tools may promote employee inclusion and empowerment (Bruna & Chanlat, 2017)? With respect to organizational initiatives, how can we ensure that researchers likewise use inclusive methodologies in their work (Stockless & Brière, 2024)?
- The role of entrepreneurship in inclusive management.
Job market discrimination often causes its victims to turn by necessity to entrepreneurship (Fayolle & Nakara, 2012) as an alternative to wage employment. Life story approaches could show how entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds may become models of resilience, in line with research by Bernard and Dubard Barbosa (2016). Many myths persist about women entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds (Tremblay, Brière & Poroli, 2020), and the experiences and practices of entrepreneurs often provide examples of inclusive practices that organizations may follow (Csanyi-Virag & Polge, 2021). Can entrepreneurship be both a cause of inclusion and a solution to exclusion? Since necessity-based entrepreneurship is often synonymous with precariousness, is it really inclusive (Fayolle & Nakara, 2012)?