A qualitative study of diversity management practices in Iran's private sector organizations

• Date: 23 March 2023
• Pages: 903-926
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-06-2022-0158
• Published date: 23 March 2023
• Author: Seyedeh Fatemeh Ghasempour Ganji,Fariborz Rahimnia,Mohammad Reza Ahanchian,Jawad Syed

A qualitative study of diversity

management practices in Iran’s

private sector organizations

Seyedeh Fatemeh Ghasempour Ganji and Fariborz Rahimnia

Department of Management, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Mohammad Reza Ahanchian

Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,

Mashhad, Iran, and

Jawad Syed

Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences,

Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to examine diversity management (DM) practices in leading private-sector

organizations in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach –The study draws on in-depth interviews with 23 human resource

management (HRM) executives and supervisors in nine private sector companies in Iran, and presents the

analysis conducted using MAXQDA software.

Findings –The results categorize DM practices into four subsystems of HRM, i.e. recruitment and selection,

training, performance management, and reward management. These practices indicate the inclusion of

diversity-sensitive criteria and consideration of equal opportunity in the HRM subsystems.

Originality/value –The findings advance a contextual understanding of DM in a developing country.

Considering DM practices in HRM subsystems may provide an effective way to help managers address

workforce diversity in organizations.

Keywords Diversity management, Equality, Human resource management, Qualitative research

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

In past two decades, diversity management (DM) has received an increasing attention among

management researchers and practitioners because of societal and global changes such as

migration, legislation, activism and organizational attempts to achieve a competitive

advantage (D’Netto et al., 2014;Nkomo et al., 2019). Workforce diversity, arguably, offers

several advantages including attracting talent and increasing innovation. However, if not

managed effectively, it can pose challenges such as increased conflict and miscommunication

(D’Netto et al., 2014;Ghasempour Ganji et al., 2021). Effective DM programs may enable

organizations to take advantage of workforce diversity and reduce its adverse consequences

(Shen et al., 2009;Yadav and Lenka, 2020). Diversity is more likely to lead to positive

performance outcomes when human resource (HR) practices focus on transforming diversity

into an advantage (Kochan et al., 2003;Tatli et al., 2017). An attention to diversity in HR

subsystems, such as recruitment, appraisal, rewards and training, may increase equal

opportunity, inclusion and creativity at work (Goodman et al., 2003;Kochan et al., 2003;

Kundu et al., 2019). Thus, it is important for organizations to know the ways in which they can

address DM practices in their HR subsystems.

The DM discourse originated in North America (Dimovski et al., 2019), and most of the

research in this field has been conducted in Western and developed countries (e.g. Cornet and

Zanoni, 2010;Hajajra et al., 2021;McDonald, 2010). Relatively less scholarly attention has

Diversity

management

practices

903

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

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Received 21 June 2022

Revised 11 November 2022

25 January 2023

Accepted 9 February 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 42 No. 7, 2023

pp. 903-926

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-06-2022-0158

been paid to DM in developing countries (e.g. Edewor et al., 2014;Kabara et al., 2022). There

are, indeed, concerns about the relevance of Western conceptualization and approaches to

DM in nonWestern countries (Klarsfeld et al., 2019;Syed, 2008a). As evidenced by previous

research, issues of diversity and discrimination are complex, and are shaped by historical,

political and socioeconomic circumstances (Ozturk et al., 2015;Sawyer and Thoroughgood,

2012;Syed, 2008b;Syed and

€

Ozbilgin, 2009;Syed et al., 2010). Thus, there is a need for

contextual studies to develop a better understanding of the conceptualization of DM in

different sociocultural environments (Shen et al., 2009).

Moreover, according to Yadav and Lenka (2020), most of the studies in the field of DM

are quantitative (49.60%), and conceptual (23.57%), while less than 9% of the studies have

used qualitative methodology. This is barring a few exceptions such as Hennekam et al.

(2017) and Soltani et al.(2012).Trianaet al. (2021) call for more in-de pth research to examine

the efficacy of various HR practices in reducing discrimination. The present study seeks to

address these research gaps by qualitatively examining DM in HR subsystems among

high-performing companies in the private sector in a developing, Muslim majority country

in Asia, i.e. Iran.

The demand for highly skilled HR in developed countries has posed a significant

challenge in developing countries due to the high rate of brain drain (Azadi etal., 2020 ). Such a

high brain drain rate shows that there are gaps and issues in the current organizational

approaches to managing HR and diversity (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003;Soltani, 2010).

Research suggests that the lack of attention to diversity and equality may lead to higher rates

of women’s and minorities’immigration (Beyraghi and Soklaridis, 2019;Docquier et al., 2009).

Docquier et al. (2009) suggest that the emigration rates of highly skilled women are

approximately 17% higher than those for comparably educated men.

Paying attention to DM in Iran is especially important as Iran has a diverse population in

terms of ethnicity, religion, gender, age, etc. This diversity is also manifested in organizations

in the shape of a diverse workforce. There is a lack of equal opportunity laws in Iran, and a

lack of commitment to equal opportunity by companies does not lead to any legal

implications or penalties (Soltani, 2010). Learning from diversity practices of the Iranian

organizations that consider DM in their policies and practices may motivate others to

consider diversity and equality initiatives at work. Moreover, as the Iranian government

seeks to diversify its economy and decrease its reliance on oil and gas revenues (Soltani,

2010), paying attention to skilled and diverse HR may be a key opportunity for social and

economic development.

The present study aims to examine DM practices in HR subsystems in the private sector in

Iran. The paper is organized as follows. In the literature review section, first, we review the

DM literature, followed by a brief review of the research context (Iran). In the methodology

section, we explain the research population and sampling method, and data gathering and

analysis procedures. Then, we report the key research findings, followed by theoretical and

practical contributions of the research, and suggestions for further research.

Literature review

Diversity and its management

Diversity is defined as all the differences, such as ethnicity, religion, disability, gender and

age that make everyone a unique person (Edwin, 2001). Diversity is usually divided into two

categories of tangible diversity (including gender, ethnicity, age and physical ability) and

intangible diversity (including formal educational backgrounds, geographic location, income,

beliefs, marital status, work experience and position) (Jabbour et al., 2011). The current study

considers four dimensions of diversity, i.e. gender, age, ethnicity and religion since these

dimensions are particularly relevant and challenging in the Iranian context.

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