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Recent political developments in European countries indicate a shift to the political right and an increase in attacks on gender equality. This political change has also started to influence scholarly work and teaching of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) topics in Austria and has led to its re-contextualization by pinpointing the rising counter forces to EDI issues. This text fills a knowledge gap on the EDI counter forces and the experiences of EDI experts and researchers by exploring their increasing silence in these times of change to the right. Based on a participatory action research project, the paper shows that a (self-)reflection on silence opens a demand for recollecting in ‘safe spaces.’ The paper demonstrates that these spaces do not only allow a reflection on how to overcome a double fault line triggered by losing previous EDI supporters and a newly invigorated gender equality opposition. These spaces also give support in escaping the spiral of silence and inner exile. The text discusses strategies addressed in these safe spaces to counter a retraction of existing gender equality policies.

This paper brings together two separate fields—inclusion and alternative organizations—to study the relational aspects of inclusion and exclusion both within and beyond organizations. By analyzing reports and websites of organizations committed to the network “Economy for the Common Good,” we empirically explore, first, how these organizations represent their “alternativeness” and how this relates to inclusion and exclusion; and second, we address the question of who is included in these alternative ventures by examining both their inclusionary and exclusionary potential in terms of diversity. Introducing a conceptual framework to distinguish between internal and external perspectives on inclusion and exclusion, our qualitative analysis reveals the simultaneity of two contradictory phenomena: On the one hand, these alternative organizations offer a new inclusionary potential that encompasses both the social and natural environments; on the other, they tend to ignore internal and external inclusion along diversity dimensions. Hence, we conclude that while there exists the potential to link inclusion with alternative organizations, a commitment to an alternative economy does not automatically lead to an engagement with issues of diversity and inclusion.

With this introductory chapter, we give an overview of the purpose, audience, structure and content of this 22-chapter edited volume. In the past couple of decades, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) have become features of organisations based not only on major legal and societal advances for inclusion but also on neoliberal economic reasoning. This importance of EDI in organisations is fuelled by worldwide, but locally determined, discourses on equality, diversity and inclusion, ranging from equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming to managing diversity and diversity management in legal, political, social and economic, and even environmental contexts. It is not only locations that matter for the (re)production of EDI processes; so do governance, size and sector of organisations. This width and depth of EDI discourses have already been covered by different books published in recent years which focus on different topics. Drawing on different perspectives these books covered a range of EDI issues such as general overviews (Konrad et al. 2006; Gatrell and Swan 2008; Green and Kirton 2009; Bendl et al. 2015), diversity dimensions (Pincus 2006; Bell 2012), inclusion (Ferdman and Deane 2014), regional and international perspectives (Kecia 2008; Ozbilgin and Tatli 2008; Klarsfeld 2010; Ozbiligin and Syed 2010; Klarsfeld et al. 2014, 2016), workplace issues (Prasad et al. 1997; Brief 2008; Ozbilgin 2009; Tyson and Parry 2011; Mor Barak 2017), special sectors (Rice 2005; Dancy 2010; Edwards 2010), challenges from legal unpinning (Kirton and Greene 2006; Healy et al. 2011), cases (Konrad 2006) and identity issues (Michaels 2006; Stockdale and Crosby 2006; Hannum et al. 2010; Booysen 2018) as well as broader economic and political issues (Williamson 2006; Carayannis et al. 2008; Lott 2010). While many texts in these books have an empirical basis and provide thought-provoking insights, it has become evident that empirical work with EDI issues requires attention to contextual and local specifics, intersectionality and widely researched processes of reproduction of stereotypes, as well as the influence of identity formation processes of the researched subjects and researchers during the research process (Zanoni et al. 2010; Atewologun et al. 2016). Common qualitative and quantitative research approaches fall far short of addressing the challenges of EDI research and have to be revisited, and even reinvented, to further explain the complex processes of EDI. Special emphasis also needs to be placed on the unequal relationship between the researcher and the researched, the socio-historical contexts, and the power dynamics embedded in the institutions, social systems and research loca-tions when engaging in EDI research.

PurposeThere seems to exist a widespread, unquestioned and unquestionable consent, both in research and practice, that there is a moral value inherent in equality and related initiatives toward diversity and inclusion. However, this consent is primarily based on political convictions and emotional reasons, and is without any strong ethical grounding. Whilst a considerable volume of research has been carried out into different facets of the economic value of initiatives toward equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), comparatively little research has been undertaken into its moral value. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to structure the moral perspectives on EDI more precisely and more critically.Design/methodology/approachAfter discussing the interrelation of the three concepts equality, diversity and inclusion, the authors discuss the way in which initiatives toward diversity and inclusion are justified morally in literature. The authors point out the crucial position of equality, and then, subsequently, outline how different approaches to equality try to achieve moral legitimacy. Being an important group of initiatives in this debate, the authors subsequently reflect upon the moral (il)legitimacy of affirmative action (AA). The concluding section of this paper provides a brief summary of the findings.FindingsThe moral evaluation of equality, diversity and inclusion remains an under-theorized field. Within the discourse on equality, diversity and inclusion, the term “justice” is largely used in an intuitive way, rather than being rooted in a specific moral philosophy. As there are several conceivable, differing moral perspectives on EDI, one cannot expect an indisputable answer to the question as to whether a given approach toward equality, diversity and inclusion is morally praiseworthy or just. However, the widespread assumption that equality is morally praiseworthyper se, and that striving for equality morally justifies any initiative toward diversity and inclusion, is untenable.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the lack of theorizing on the moral value of initiatives toward equality, diversity, and inclusion, such as diversity management, AA or various equal opportunity approaches. Future research could enrich the discourse on the moral evaluation of diversity management, inclusion programs and organizational equality approaches with new philosophical facets and perspectives, perspectives that might differ from those taken in the predominantly American discourse.

Diversity in the workplace, with a central focus on gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, (dis)ability, and religious belief, has become a major issue in organizations worldwide since the 1990s. How these different diversity dimensions are defined and constructed, as well as by whom and in what context, determines organizational practices. In turn, this determines the transformation of organizations from exclusive to inclusive ones. The workplace is one context of social interaction, in which dimensions of diversity become highly relevant and visible. Depending on the organization’s perspective toward diversity in a managerial context, individual differences between employees can create value and foster innovation and creativity, or can lead to conflict. How diversity is constructed and reproduced within diversity management and inclusion determines how employees feel accepted and included and, thus, how they are able to realize their potential and to contribute to the organization’s vision and aims. However, legitimizing initiatives that foster diversity in the workplace only with potential profits it might generate – called the business case for diversity – and forgetting its roots in the moral case, has shortcomings and potential drawbacks on the aims of diversity management and inclusion. Research on diversity in the workplace can be found in different forms. Generally, there are two main groups. Mainstream diversity literature works within the positivist research tradition and focuses mostly on the performance aspects of diverse workforces by conducting quantitative empirical studies. Critical diversity literature aims at promoting social justice by deeply understanding, criticizing and developing possible solutions. Both research streams have contributed to comprehend diversity in the workplace, realize its potentials and support marginalized groups.

This text analyses the current life conditions of homosexual women aged over 60 in terms of their structural (dis)embodiment and the bounded complexity of their bodily realities. Specifically, we consider their intersectional position along the following categories: (old) age, gender and sexual orientation. The data is drawn from narrative interviews with older lesbians living in Austria, framed methodically by the concept of life conditions and investigated using an analytical content method. Applying a general framework to analyse the bounded complexity of bodily realities, our data presents a broad picture of bodily imprints within the current lives of older lesbians in Austria.

Meritokratische Gesellschaften wenden das Leistungsprinzip als Garant und Gradmesser fur gerechte Verteilung an. Die damit verbundene Chancengleichheitsannahme wird aber nicht realisiert. Wir sprechen daher vom Mythos der Meritokratie und weisen auf vielfaltige Probleme sozialer Ungleichheit, besonders auch auf die anhaltende Geschlechterungleichheit hin. In der Debatte uber die Forderungen des WGBU sehen wir den dringenden Bedarf, die Agenda zu erweitern und die transformative Geschlechterpolitik mit zu berucksichtigen. Wir betrachten Arbeitsorganisationen als Orte und Treiber der Transformation und regen an, Organisationen als gesellschaftliche Einrichtungen zu verstehen, die eine Transformation in Richtung Geschlechterdemokratie, Geschlechtergerechtigkeit und Geschlechtergleichstellung wirksam vorantreiben konnen.

Veganer/-innen, noch mehr als Vegetarier/-innen, werden in westlichen Gesellschaften stigmatisiert und diskriminiert. Die Stigmatisierung von Veganer/-innen ist weder sozial nachhaltig noch rational. Die sich daraus ergebende Abwertung pflanzlicher Gerichte erschwert sowohl eine Reduktion des Fleischkonsums, um die Kosten des Gesundheitssystems zu reduzieren, als auch die Einhaltung der in Paris beschlossenen Klimaziele, bedingt durch den hohen okologischen Fusabdruck tierischer Produkte. Wir prasentieren zuerst Ergebnisse internationaler Forschung bezuglich der Stigmatisierung und Diskriminierung von Veganer/-innen, um uns anschliesend der Situation in Osterreich zuzuwenden. Wir prasentieren konkrete Beispiele von Diskriminierung und erortern die kulturellen und gesellschaftlichen Grunde dieses Phanomens. Anschliesend diskutieren wir mogliche Losungen des Problems, einerseits aus juristischer Sicht durch eine rechtliche Anerkennung des Veganismus als Weltanschauung, andererseits aus der Sicht des Diversitatsmangements in Organisationen. Wir unterstreichen dabei die wichtige Vorreiterrolle von Universitaten, welche sich als Institutionen fundiertem Wissen, Unvoreingenommenheit, Schutz vor Diskriminierung und Wahrung demokratischer Chancengleichheit verschrieben haben, einnehmen sollten. Wir beenden das Kapitel mit einem transformativen Gedankenexperiment: Wenn die Halfte der Bevolkerung vegetarisch oder vegan ware, dann wurde es viel leichter fallen, die Klimaziele zu erreichen, Tierschutz und artgerechte Haltung von Tieren zu gewahrleisten und bessere pflanzliche Gerichte fur alle zu produzieren.

This chapter explores the specific challenges of teaching diversity management courses in management education. It constitutes a critical reflection on the establishment of innovative course work and challenges stemming from the contradicting professional self-understandings of those employed as researchers and faculty members at established educational institutions. The chapter provides some lessons learned regarding the development of a curriculum of gender- and diversity-relevant courses in management education within the context of a university economics and business. One element in the decision-making process of students when choosing a degree course is the perception of subsequent "employability". For the business specializations (SBWL) in Diversity Management this means that the potential course participants consider closely whether the acquired competencies will improve their chances of finding employment and whether a formal certification of qualification gives a positive signal to potential employers. Each evaluation examines in detail the extent to which the educational goals and expectations of students have been realized by the SBWL.

In this paper we examine the process of incorporating gender equality into a higher education institution as it evolves into a managerial university. The case illustrates the ongoing processes between structure, activism and features of gender equality, and provides insights into how activists adapt to changes in governance and influence managerial responses to equality. Tracing the interaction of employee activism with new managerialism over nearly two decades, four phases of change are identified. These provide a basis for generating two concepts – managerial recalibration and individual activism – while challenging the social abeyance hypothesis of social movements.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which gender is "done" in executive search. The authors uncover how the ideal candidate for top management is defined in and through sea ...

Diversity management discourse shows that theoretical concepts and strategies often neglect issues of ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘sexuality’, and unwittingly reinforce patterns of exclusion in organizational practice. This chapter considers the diversity category ‘sexual orientation’ within a broader theoretical framework, by highlighting the constitutive connectedness between ‘sex’, ‘gender’, and ‘sexuality’. It uses queer theoretical concepts to give insight into the normative intersections of ‘sex’, ‘gender’, and ‘sexuality’ and, thus, heteronormative phenomena in diversity management discourse. Based on an exploration of multinational corporations (MNCs) and their codes of conduct (CoCs) it highlights the interventional and transformative potential of queer theory as an approach to DM discourse.

In recent years diversity and its management have become popular topics of discussion in all kinds of organizations. Diversity management practices have spread around the globe focusing on the organizing and management of inclusion and exclusion of different genders, sexualities, ethnicities, ages, classes and (dis)abilities and many other identity categories. This chapter provides a general introduction to the volume, which seeks to explore what diversity is and what it has to do with organizations. The editors present description of each chapter and reflections based on the texts.

PurposeIn this paper the authors aim to examine the forms in which feminist activism is played out at contemporary managerial universities and pose the following question: what notions of feminist activism and feminist theory have to be revisited in order to sustain the target of gender equality and support its move further into the centre and the mainstream of managerial universities?Design/methodology/approachBased on action research the authors document a workshop which they organised for different constituencies (administrators, researchers and feminist activists) working towards gender equality at an Austrian university and discuss its results in the context of feminist theory.FindingsThe five voices collected at the workshop show that feminist theories are still the underlying guiding principles for feminist activism towards gender equality at managerial universities. As this is the first time that different generations of feminist activists have been present at managerial universities and are working in a top‐down environment supported by administrators responsible for gender equality, common practices that have been successful to implement gender equality in the past have to be refined and new spaces for collaboration established.Originality/valueThis is the first paper that explores the multiple voices amongst those engaged in the process of transformation towards gender equality at contemporary managerial universities. It shows that an open discussion of complementary and conflicting ways in which the representatives can construct their selves, their strategies and their actions is required in order to start “managing the management” anew – from a higher level than the feminist grassroots activists in the 1980s and 1990s.

Evaluations of gender mainstreaming show that there has been limited change to gender equality and it has been very fragmented across EU countries. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to evaluate the heuristic and conceptual value of the term gender mainstreaming as a metaphor for gender equality. Our results from applying an image-schematic model of metaphor evaluation show that gender mainstreaming represents a nonsensical metaphor for gender equality. We conclude with recommendations for reconceptualizing gender mainstreaming.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the heuristic value of the stepfamily metaphor for describing and formulating non-economic issues of merged and acquired (M&A) companies. Based on organisational discourse methodology we evaluate the stepfamily metaphor introduced by Allred et al. and provide new insights into the nature, antecedents and processes of M&As. Firstly, we review arguments for considering M&A corporations as stepfamilies. Secondly, we introduce Cornelissen’s domain-interaction model for evaluating metaphors. Thirdly, we apply the model to appraise the heuristic value of the stepfamily metaphor. Lastly, we discuss how the stepfamily metaphor can transcend the limitations of rational-economic explanations for M&A failures and propose variations on the stepfamily to enhance understanding of M&A.

In light of recent studies that suggest that diversity management in hierarchical organizations does not produce the effects that it names and that discrimination within organizations can only be t...

Research utilizing equality and diversity benchmarks and indices -- such the UN Gender Inequality Index or SHRM Global Diversity Readiness Index -- has been scarce, although it has the potential to...

The glass ceiling metaphor, a framework of the 1980s, constructs discrimination processes in a particular way in particular organizational frameworks. Using a procedure of metaphor evaluation, we examine the glass ceiling metaphor to determine whether it continues to be useful in contemporary social and economic contexts. We analyse the recently introduced firewall metaphor for its usefulness for constructing discriminatory processes in organizations, which remain hidden in the glass ceiling metaphor. Our analysis suggests that both metaphors are useful for constructing diverse aspects of discrimination. In the contemporary context, however, firewalls may have greater utility due to their complexity, fluidity, heterogeneity and possibilities for permeability.

Queer theory is a relatively new theoretical approach in organizational discourse that we think can uncover power relations and normative and hierarchical processes in diversity management discourse. ‘Heteronormativity’ and ‘performativity’, core concepts of queer theory, critique categorization and fixed identities and thereby problematize and broaden perspectives on current diversity management discourse, especially those associated with organizational constructions of diversity dimensions. In this article, we focus on the discursive and intersectional construction of subject positions and identities within organizations by drawing upon a queer theoretical framework to analyze three companies' codes of conduct that claim to create an inclusive work environment. The deconstructive analysis of these discursive artifacts emphasizes the intersectional power dynamics of and between the categories of sex, gender and sexuality, and can be taken as a point of departure for questioning the heteronormative arrangements of diversity management practices.

PurposeThe paper's aim is to examine how diversity management discourse reproduces heteronormative essentialist notions of identity in organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a critical analysis of diversity management discourse that draws upon concepts, frames and the language of queer theory and insights from social identity construction to offer an alternative approach to reconceptualising diversity management. The key question of the paper is: what are the conceptions of identity underpinning the diversity management discourse and how do they reproduce heteronormativity?FindingsThe paper unveils the reproduction of binaries in diversity management discourse. Possible counter strategies from queer theory are proposed to alter the diversity management discourse.Originality/valueThis paper offers a first reading of diversity management discourse against the grain from a queer perspective and offers possible points of departure for altering diversity management discourse.

Many scholars have set out to re-read, deconstruct and reconstruct organizational texts in terms of gender. Their work examines the gender subtexts in the extant literature. First, this text uses the term ‘gender subtext’ and discusses the methodological basis of gender subtext discourse. Then, eight forms of gender subtext are presented, which reflect the current reproduction of gender in organizational discourse. These variations of gender subtext are based on a re-reading of 24 texts. This paper forms part of a wider intellectual objective of creating discursive space, which transgresses mainstream malestream disciplinary borders, aiming to create ‘gendered organization theory’.

Intersektionalitat und queere Perspektiven finden immer mehr Eingang in die diversitatsorientierte Organisationsforschung. Beiden Ansatzen ist gemeinsam, dass sie ermoglichen, die (Re-)Produktionsprozesse der unterschiedlichen Diversitatskategorien verschrankt zu beleuchten und zu analysieren. Forschungspraktisch findet die Zusammenfuhrung der beiden Ansatze aktuell in der Organisationsforschung nur sehr rudimentar statt. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, das Potential der Verschrankung von Intersektionalitat mit queeren Perspektiven fur die organisationale Diversitatsforschung zu reflektieren, indem zunachst getrennt deren jeweilige historische Entwicklung, Relevanz, Potentiale und Limitationen aufgezeigt und danach Herausforderungen und Zukunftsperspektiven, basierend auf einer Verbindung der beiden Ansatze, prasentiert werden.

This article focuses on illustrating how apprentices engage in class identity work and how accounts serve in the class sensemaking process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 apprent...

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore flexpatriates' perceptions of work life balance (WLB) issues and identify possible adjustments of WLB programs to better meet the needs of flexpatriates. This paper investigates flexpatriates' challenges at the interface of personal and work lives and their perception of standard WLB programs and then proposes organizational adjustments to better meet the needs of flexpatriates.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a qualitative research approach and two kinds of empirical data were collected: first, through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 40 employees involved in flexpatriate assignments in multinational companies operating in Austria and, second, through a document analysis of the homepages of their employing organizations to gain information about WLB practices.FindingsDrawing upon the study findings, the authors present a typology of flexpatriates and propose a model that considers both WLB and work life imbalance as a desirable or acceptable option and offers a new theoretical perspective for examining organization and individual dimensions in WLB.Originality/valueThe authors' contribution is a new contextualization of WLB initiatives that incorporates both WLB and work life imbalance as valid perspectives of employees.

During the past 20 years various policy initiatives and organizational strategies to improve the representation of women and reduce inequalities in higher education have emerged in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). There are currently three prevailing strategies for bringing about equality: 1) Gender mainstreaming in the EU public non-profit sector, 2) diversity management in the EU and US for-profit sectors, and 3) inclusive excellence in the nonprofit subsector of US higher education. From a feminist perspective much more is needed to improve the status of women in higher education as well as to become more inclusive to individuals whose ethnicity/race, sexual orientation, age, religion or beliefs, disability, or nationality may differ from those the dominant group. Despite the increasing complexity and importance of equality strategies and the large bodies of literature associated with the first two strategies, there is limited research comparing their attributes (e.g., Bendl 2004), and the third strategy has yet to be critically analyzed.

Dieser Beitrag bietet einen Literatuberblick zu empirischen Untersuchungen zum Thema „Arbeitszeit und Ladenoffnung im Handel„. Die Analyse von der Kriterien Zielsetzung, Zielgruppe, Stichprobee, Auswahlverfahren, Erhebungsinstrument, Daten-analyse und Auftraggeber (Tabelle 1), sowie nach Ergebnisskizze (Tabelle 2). Abschliesend wurde versucht, Forschungsfragen und mogliche module eines empirischen Desing zu skizzieren Dabel konnte Validitat der Ergebnisse von methodischer Vielfalt und theoretischem Input profitieren. Sollten sich flexible Offnungszeiten kunftig verstarkt als Bestandteil der Leistungspolitik von Handeklsunternehmen etablieren, wird es zur Wirkungsanalyse und -prognose derartiger Anstrengungen bedurfen. Gegenuber anderen Aktionsvariablen (Preis, Werbung und wahrscheinliche Kontlikte mit personalpolitischen Zielen erhohen die Komplexitat dar Problemstellung deutlich.

Since the events of September 11, 2001, there has been a shift in the attitudes towards immigration and multiculturalism. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared that "multiculturalism... has utterly failed." Likewise, the U.K. is moving towards "post-multiculturalism" as a way forward to foster social cohesion and promote assimilation and a common identity. The premise behind the post-multiculturalism/anti-immigration movement is that multiculturalism is not working, and new public policies and programs are needed to move beyond multiculturalism. This symposium will provide a forum for academic discourse on whether multiculturalism has failed to work, how multiculturalism can contribute to organizations, societies, and nations, and what can be done to foster greater tolerance and inclusion. A roundtable will be used to involve the audience as participants, and to generate active discussions. The objective of the symposium is to: (1) exchange knowledge, ideas, and experiences about multicultural...