Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-fv566 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T22:37:16.576Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Diversity Management Approach to Equal Employment Opportunity in Australian Organisations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

John Burgess ,
Erica French  and
Glenda Strachan
John Burgess
Affiliation:
Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle
Erica French
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business, Queensland University of Technology
Glenda Strachan
Affiliation:
Griffith Business School, Griffith University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article assesses the ‘Managing Diversity’ (MD) approach in Australia, examining its drivers, discussing its relationship to legislation designed to promote equity, and examining it as a set of management practices. It has been plausibly argued, on efficiency grounds, that responsibility for achieving equality objectives must be shifted to organisations as this links contextual conditions to organisational processes. However, even where there is some prescription and guidance such as that provided by Australian Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation targeted specifically to women employees, both practice and outcomes are variable. This is even more the case with MD where there are no guiding principles or legislative support. The article examines the best practice EEO and MD programs of Australian organisations to demonstrate the approaches and programs that are being developed at the workplace and to highlight the limitations of the ‘business case’ approach underlying such programs.

Type
Symposium
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , December 2009 , pp. 77 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bruegel, I., Perrons, D. (1995) ‘Where do the costs of unequal treatment for women fall? An Analysis of the incidence of the costs of unequal pay and sex discrimination in the UK’ in Humphries, J., Rubery, J. (eds) The Economics of Equal Opportunities, Equal Opportunities Commission, Manchester, pp. 55–175.Google Scholar
Burgess, J., Henderson, L., Strachan, G. (2007) ‘Work and family balance through equal employment opportunity programs and agreement making in Australia’, Employee Relations, 29(4), pp. 415–431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, J., Henderson, L., Strachan, G. (2010) ‘Organisations do it differently: Case studies in male-dominated industrial manufacturing’ in Strachan, G., French, E., Burgess, J. , Managing Diversity in Australia: Theory and Practice, McGraw Hill, Sydney, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Charlesworth, S., Campbell, I., Probert, B., Allan, J., Morgan, L. (2002) Balancing work and family responsibilities: Policy implementation options, Report for the Victorian Departments of Premier and Cabinet and Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Cope, B., Kalantzis, M. (1996), Productive Diversity: A New Australian Model for Work and Management, Pluto Press, Annandale.Google Scholar
Cope, B., Kalantzis, M. (1997) Productive diversity: Management lessons from Australian companies, Occasional Paper no. 20, Centre for Workplace Communication and Culture, Sydney.Google Scholar
Dickens, L. (1999) ‘Beyond the business case: A three-pronged approach to equality action’, Human Resource Management Journal, 9(1), pp. 9–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickens, L. (2000) ‘Promoting gender equity at work: A potential role for trade union action’, Human Resource Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, 5(2), pp. 27–45.Google Scholar
EOWA (2009) (Equal Opportunity for Women Agency) Case studies, available: http://www.eowa.gov.au/Case_Studies.asp [accessed 28 April 2009].Google Scholar
Fine, M. G. (1995), Differences in the Workplace: A Theoretical Perspective in Building Successful Multicultural Organisations: Challenges and Opportunities, Quorum Books, London.Google Scholar
French, E. (2001) ‘Approaches to equity management and their relationship to women in management’, British Journal of Management, 12(4), pp. 267–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, E. (2005) ‘Strategic change has an integral role in effective equity management: No one size fits all model’, Strategic Change Journal, 14(1), pp. 35–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, E., Strachan, G., Burgess, J. (2010) ‘The theoretical and policy context for diversity: Conflicting beliefs and competing ideals' in Strachan, G., French, E., Burgess, J. (eds) Managing Diversity in Australia: Theory and Practice, McGraw Hill, Sydney, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Holterman, S. (1995) ‘The costs and benefits of British employers of measures to promote equality of opportunity’ in Humphries, J., Rubery, J. (eds) The Economics of Equal Opportunities, Equal Opportunities Commission, Manchester, pp. 137–145.Google Scholar
Kandola, R., Fullerton, J. (1994), Managing the Mosaic: Diversity in Action, Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD), London.Google Scholar
Kirton, G., Greene, A. (2005), The Dynamics of Managing Diversity: A Critical Approach, 2nd edition, Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Konrad, A. M., Linnehan, F. (1995) ‘Formalized HRM structures: Coordinating equal employment opportunity or concealing organisational practices?’, Academy of Management Journal, 18(3), pp. 787–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kramar, R. (1995) ‘Equal employment opportunity: An essential and integral part of good human resource management’ in O'Neill, G, Kramar, R. (eds) Australian Human Resources Management: Current Trends in Management Practice, McGraw-Hill, London and New York, pp. 223–241.Google Scholar
Liff, S. (1997) ‘Two routes to managing diversity: Individual differences or social group characteristics', Employee Relations, 19(1), pp. 11–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liff, S. (1999) ‘Diversity and equal opportunities: Room for a constructive compromise?’, Human Resource Management Journal, 9(1), pp. 65–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liff, S., Cameron, I. (1997) ‘Changing equality cultures to move beyond “women's problems”’, Gender, Work and Organization, 4(1), pp. 35–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, S. (1999) ‘Understanding and managing diversity among groups at work: Key issues for organisational training and development’, Journal of European Industrial Training, 23(4/5), pp. 208–217.Google Scholar
Poiner, G., Wills, S. (1991), The Gifthorse: A Critical look at Equal Employment Opportunity in Australia, Allen and Unwin, Sydney.Google Scholar
Robinson, G., Dechant, K. (1997) ‘Building a business case for diversity’, Academy of Management Executive, 11(3), pp. 21–31.Google Scholar
Ronalds, C. (1991), Affirmative Action and Sex Discrimination: A Handbook on Legal Rights for Women, Pluto Press, Sydney.Google Scholar
Ronalds, C., Pepper, R. (2004), Discrimination Law and Practice, 2nd edition, Federation Press, Sydney.Google Scholar
Sappey, R., Burgess, J., Lyons, M., Buultjens, J. (2006), Industrial Relations in Australia, Pearson Education, Sydney.Google Scholar
Shaw, J. (1995), Cultural Diversity at Work — Utilising a Unique Australian Resource, Business and Professional Publishing, Sydney.Google Scholar
Sheridan, A. (1998) ‘Patterns in the policies: Affirmative action in Australia’, Women in Management, 13(7), pp. 243–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strachan, G., Burgess, J. (2001) Affirmative action legislation in Australia — the legislative model, paper presented at Rethinking Gender, Work and Organisation Conference, Keele University, UK, 27–29 June.Google Scholar
Strachan, G., Burgess, J., Sullivan, A. (2004) ‘Affirmative action or managing diversity — what is the future of equal opportunity policies in organisations', Women in Management Review, 19(4), pp. 196–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strachan, G., French, E., Burgess, J. (2010) ‘Approaches to equity and diversity in Australia: The national and international context’ in Strachan, G., French, E., Burgess, J. (eds) Managing Diversity in Australia: Theory and Practice, McGraw Hill, Sydney, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Thomas, D. A., Ely, R. J. (1996) ‘Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity’, Harvard Business Review, September-October, pp. 79–90.Google Scholar
Thomas, R. (1991), Beyond Race and Gender: Unleashing the Power of Your Total Work Force by Managing Diversity, American Management Association, New York.Google Scholar
Thomas, R. (1996), Redefining Diversity, American Management Association, New York.Google Scholar
Thomas, R. (2001) ‘From affirmative action to affirming diversity’ in Harvard Business Review on Managing Diversity, pp. 1–32.Google Scholar