Public Relations Theory

4Diversity

Dean Mundy

Perform a quick search on any major corporate website, and it is easy to see that “diversity” is “important.” Diversity initiatives – or more appropriately diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives – have become central to organizational business models. Increasingly, companies hire chief diversity officers, publish D&I reports, and dedicate significant resources to enhance and promote their D&I efforts. The Thomson‐Reuters D&I index launched in 2016 reflects these trends. The index researches the D&I programs of more than 5,000 companies globally, ranking the top hundred, and outlining the major trends among board leadership (Thomson Reuters, 2016). But what do we mean by “diversity”?

Defining the Concepts: What Is Diversity?

A single, all‐encompassing definition of diversity is difficult to pinpoint. Even the Oxford English Dictionary’s lead definition is obscure: “The condition or quality of being diverse.” At perhaps the most fundamental level, diversity highlights individual difference (or as the OED adds in its secondary definition, “a point of unlikeness … distinction”). Markers of diversity are those factors that make us unique and shape our individual worldview. These dimensions of difference vary depending on who you ask, or the context in which they are being addressed. Certainly, when most of us think about diversity we initially consider demographic diversity – factors such as age, sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation. ...