Perspectives on Diversity and Equality in Under-Researched Countries

In many countries managing and developing diversity is on the political and business agenda and has become an area of knowledge and practice in its own right. Yet all too often, diversity management and diversity research is centred in Western democracies, mono-culturally infused and biased (e.g., Jonsen et al., 2011; Nishii & Ozbilgin, 2007). At the same time, we know that diversity and equality at work cannot be treated as a unifying concept, nor be interpreted uniformly across cultures and countries, as highlighted in volumes and special issues on country or comparative perspectives on equal treatment and diversity, edited by Klarsfeld (2010), Syed and Özbilgin (2010), Klarsfeld et al. (2014) and Klarsfeld el al. (2016a and 2016b).

The purpose of this special issue is to further restore diversity and equality to its national contexts by shedding light on under-researched countries, including (though not being limited to) countries in Latin America, in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Proposed papers should deal with, but not necessarily be limited to, the following questions:

• Is there an equal treatment or affirmative action legislation in the country and if so since when? In particular, what dimensions of diversity does it address (gender, race, age, etc.)? To what degree is it enforced (e.g., which sanctions do apply if the legislation is violated and how often are these sanctions actually put in practice)?
• Even in the absence of such legislation, is there a public debate about diversity in the country of study, and if so, what is this debate, and concerning what aspect of diversity? How and when was it started – if it was started at all? When do the first contributions appear in academia and in the media or press? Who are the actors involved in this debate, such as businesses, trade unions, political organizations, NGOs and other lobbies?
• Is there empirical research about diversity in the country of study and what are the main findings and/or contributions? What research questions are being addressed by the scholars about this country? To what extent do researchers and practitioners consider the intersections of multiple dimensions of diversity?
• What is the relationship between diversity management and equal treatment/equal opportunity/affirmative action legislation if such legislation exists in the country of study? Which concept appeared first?

All papers must be empirically driven, utilizing either primary or secondary data. Theoretical frameworks may also be used to assist with describing and/or understanding a country’s context. Multiple authorship is encouraged to offer diverse viewpoints, within each paper. It is anticipated that multiple authors will contribute different and diverse datasets to enrich the perspectives for each country. A submission which follows the process we outline here (i.e., common canvass of data) would be preferred over one that reviews existing literature.

If you have any queries, please contact the guest co-editor:

Alain Klarsfeld: a.klarsfeld@tbs-education.fr

Please upload your submissions to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion ScholarOne Manuscripts website http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/edi - select ‘Special Issue’ and submit to the issue listed with the title: Perspectives on Diversity and Equality in Under-researched Countries. Submission will be available until October 31, 2017.

Papers must follow the journal submission guidelines:

http://emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=edi

References

Jonsen, K., Maznewski, M.L., & Schneider, S.C. (2011). Diversity and its not so diverse literature: An international perspective. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 11(1), 35-62.

Klarsfeld, A. (Ed.) (2010). Country perspectives on diversity and equal treatment at work, Cheltenham et al.: Elgar.

Klarsfeld, A., Booysen, L.A.E., Ng, E., Roper, I., & Tatli, A. (Eds.) (2014). Country perspectives on diversity and equal treatment at work, 2. edn., Cheltenham et al.: Elgar.

Klarsfeld, A., Ng, E.S., Booysen, L.A.E., Castro-Christiansen, L., & Kuvaas, B. (2016a). Comparative equality and diversity: main findings and research gaps. Cross-cultural and Strategic Management, 23(3), 1-37.

Klarsfeld, A., Ng, E.S., Booysen, L.A.E., Castro-Christiansen, L., & Kuvaas, B. (2016b). Research handbook of international and comparative perspective on diversity management. Edward Elgar.

Nishii, L.H., & Özbilgin, M.F. (2007). Global diversity management: towards a conceptual framework. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(11), 1883-1894.

Syed, J., & Özbilgin, M.F. (Eds.). (2010). Managing cultural diversity in Asia: A research companion. Elgar.