Diversity as job quality: toward the inclusion of trade unions in public procurement of social services

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2019-0050
• Published date: 26 November 2020
• Date: 26 November 2020
• Pages: 1014-1028
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity,equality,inclusion
• Author: Orly Benjamin

Diversity as job quality: toward the

inclusion of trade unions in public

procurement of social services

Orly Benjamin

Sociology and Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

Abstract

Purpose –When union representatives are included in government procurement procedures for contracting-

out of social welfare services, organizational diversity is enhanced if the job quality parameter, as reflected in

the contract, is improved. Asking how unions are treated in government procurement procedures, this paper

discusses an approach to diversity management based on the inclusion of unions.

Design/methodology/approach–As part of a broader research project, interviews were conducted with six

budget administrators and 16 occupational standards administrators employed by the Israeli ministries of

Welfare, Education and Health; and with eight trade union activists. Grounded theory was applied for data

analysis, revealing meanings of “trade unions”and “job quality.”

Findings –Budgeting administrators manifested diversity resistance by means of only partially supporting

trade union demands to enhance job quality. Their power position enabled them to prioritize the profit

imperative of service providers; the diverse labor force operating the contracted-out service were consequently

denied the ostensible benefits of workplace diversity.

Practical implications –Unionization, and trade union participation in social welfare procurement

processes, is a potentially effective path toimproving job quality and enhancing workplace diversity. However,

more must be done to develop the institutional-level processes that will ensure that this potential is utilized to

the full.

Social implications –Including trade unions in social welfare procurement processes is a potentially

effective path to improving job quality and enhancing workplace diversity. However, specific actions are

required to develop the willingness of budgeting administrators to recognize the association between union

participation, job quality and the acknowledged benefit of promoting organizational diversity.

Originality/value –An institutional work perspective was used to detail how budgeting administrators

involved in public procurement processes resisted diversity by undermining trade union action for job quality.

By identifying three social processes deployed to side-track trade union campaigns for improved job quality,

this research shows how the power struggle between budgeting administrators and union representatives

ultimately undermines workplace diversity.

Keywords Diversity, Inclusion, Unions, Job quality, Public procurement

Paper type Conceptual paper

Introduction

It is commonly acknowledged that diverse ethnic-racial-national belonging is a defining

characteristic of the lower echelons of labor market hierarchies (Hopkins, 2012). This

phenomenon manifests most clearly in workplaces which recruit employees from

disadvantaged social groups—groups who often experience discrimination and

oppression (Prasad et al., 2006)—to low-status occupations and positions. As a common

reality, this indicates a continuous organizational gap. On the one hand, organizational

policies are introduced as a means of promoting workplace diversity; but on the other hand,

employment practices which embed institutional inequality with regard to access to quality

EDI

41,7

1014

The author is deeply grateful for excellent comments by two anonymous EDI reviewers and to Dr

Meytal Eran Yona, The Diversity and Gender officer at the Weitzman Institute Israel, for her useful

comments on an earlier version.

Funding: Funding for conducting the interviews in the study reported here was provided by the Berl

Katzanelson Foundation.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 31 January 2019

Revised 15 November 2019

27 July 2020

Accepted 6 November 2020

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 41 No. 7, 2022

pp. 1014-1028

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-01-2019-0050