The discourse of diversity in unionised contexts: views from trade union equality officers
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address the little researched question of how trade unions have interpreted and engaged with the discourse of diversity adopted by many organisations to replace the traditional "equal opportunities" discourse.Design methodology approach - Drawing o...
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Published in | Personnel review Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 431 - 448 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Farnborough
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
01.07.2006
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address the little researched question of how trade unions have interpreted and engaged with the discourse of diversity adopted by many organisations to replace the traditional "equal opportunities" discourse.Design methodology approach - Drawing on interviews with national trade union equality officers, the paper presents a discourse-based analysis, exploring what the shift towards a diversity discourse means for trade unions.Findings - The paper identifies three main features of the diversity discourse, which cause concern from the trade union perspective: its business-driven nature, its focus on the individual and its positioning as a top-down managerial activity. The main concern expressed was that the upbeat rhetoric of the diversity discourse diverts attention from the realities of discrimination and disadvantage. However, the discussion concludes that unions believe it is possible to work critically with diversity in order to pursue equality objectives.Originality value - The paper offers an original perspective on the diversity discourse, and within the field of employment relations, an unusual analytical approach. |
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Bibliography: | original-pdf:0140350405.pdf ark:/67375/4W2-7BZ0DQ0B-7 istex:7599865F1FD57434E4D9D7681927CAD441941733 href:00483480610670599.pdf filenameID:0140350405 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0048-3486 1758-6933 |
DOI: | 10.1108/00483480610670599 |