Managing Diversity: Shaping the Future of Work

Dear Colleagues,

a. Focus

This Special Issue foregrounds a key shift: diversity management is no longer treated as a peripheral practice but as a structuring force shaping the future of work. In contexts marked by globalization, migration dynamics (Roberson, 2019; Groutsis et al., 20209), socio-political tensions (Benschop et al., 2022; Ng et al., 2025), and transformations driven by artificial intelligence and hybrid work (Barocas & Selbst, 2016; Kellogg et al., 2020; Leonardi, 2021), diversity management actively reconfigures how work is organized, governed, and experienced. Crucially, the issue also recognizes underexplored sources of transformation—such as Indigenous knowledges (Wilson, 2008), neurodiversity (Austin & Pisano, 2017), and migration experiences (Al Ariss et al., 2014)—as generative forces for rethinking work practices, collaboration, and value creation. Rather than merely addressing workforce composition, diversity management becomes central to understanding whether emerging forms of work reproduce or transform inequalities.

b. Scope

Adopting a focused interdisciplinary lens, the issue prioritizes contributions that explicitly link diversity management to transformations in work systems. It emphasizes multi-level, systemic, and contextually embedded analyses (Guillaume et al., 2017; Amis et al., 2020), integrating intersectionality (Azmitia et al., 2023) and institutional dynamics (Syed & Özbilgin, 2009). In line with its forward-looking orientation, the issue encourages work that conceptualizes diversity not only as a source of inequality but also as a resource for innovation, including perspectives grounded in Indigenous epistemologies, neurodiversity, and transnational mobility. Particular attention is given to tensions—such as inclusion versus backlash (Allen et al., 2025; Benschop et al., 2022; Saba et al., 2021)—and to how AI and hybrid work reshape visibility, control, and access to opportunities (Kellogg et al., 2020; Leonardi, 2021), positioning diversity management as a lever within these transformations.

c. Purpose of the Special Issue

The purpose is to reposition diversity management as a driver of work redesign. The issue advances theory by conceptualizing diversity as transformative beyond traditional outcome-focused perspectives (Yadav & Lenka, 2020), builds on research on organizational inequality (Amis et al., 2020), and generates empirical insights into how work is structured through diversity practices in AI- and hybrid-driven environments (Barocas & Selbst, 2016; Leonardi, 2021). It also highlights how alternative epistemologies and cognitive diversities can inform more inclusive and adaptive forms of organizing, offering actionable guidance for organizations navigating contested EDI environments (Benschop et al., 2022).

How the Special Issue Will Usefully Supplement Existing Literature

This Special Issue’s distinct contribution lies in reorienting diversity management research toward its role in shaping the future of work. While prior scholarship has focused on diversity outcomes (Zhao et al., 2025), this issue examines how diversity management transforms organizational structures and governance systems. It bridges fragmented literatures—diversity, intersectionality (Azmitia et al., 2023), systemic inequality (Amis et al., 2020), and institutional embeddedness (Syed & Özbilgin, 2009)—while connecting them to emerging research on AI and hybrid work (Kellogg et al., 2020; Leonardi, 2021). It further extends the literature by incorporating perspectives on Indigenous knowledge systems, neurodiversity, and migration as drivers of alternative organizing logics, thereby offering an integrated, forward-looking framework for understanding how managing diversity contributes to shaping the future of work.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 300–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors (info.institutEDI2@ulaval.ca) or to /Administrative Sciences/ editorial office (admsci@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

References

Allen, S.A., Murrell, A.J., Pil, F.K. (2025). DEI backlash – Implications for organizational DEI alignment and employee belongingness. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-02-2025-0147

Amis, J. M., Mair, J., & Munir, K. A. (2020). The organizational reproduction of inequality. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 195–230. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0033

Austin, R. D., & Pisano, G. P. (2017). Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 95(3), 96-103.

Azmitia, M., Garcia Peraza, P. D., & Casanova, S. (2023). Social identities and intersectionality: A conversation about the what and the how of development. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 5, 169-191. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-120321-022756

Barocas, S., & Selbst, A. D. (2016). Big data’s disparate impact. California Law Review, 104(3), 671–732.
https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38BG31

Benschop, Y., van den Brink, M., & Verloo, M. (2022). Diversity and inclusion as a political project. Organization Theory, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/26317877221109255

Groutsis, D., Vassilopoulou, J., Kyriakidou, O. & Ozbilgin, M. (2020). The ‘new’migration for work phenomenon: The pursuit of emancipation and recognition in the context of work. Work, Employment and Society, 34(5) 864 –882. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017019872651

Guillaume, Y. R. F., Dawson, J. F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276–303.
https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2040

Kellogg, K. C., Valentine, M. A., & Christin, A. (2020). Algorithms at work: The new contested terrain of control. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 366–410. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0174

Leonardi, P. M. (2021). COVID-19 and the new technologies of organizing: Digital exhaust, digital footprints, and an emerging future of work. Journal of Management Studies, 58(1), 247–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12648

Ng, E., Fitzsimmons, T., Kulkarni, M., Ozturk, M. B., April, K., Banerjee, R., & Muhr, S. L. (2025). The anti-DEI agenda: navigating the impact of Trump’s second term on diversity, equity and inclusion. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 44(2), 137-150. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-02-2025-0116

Wilson, S. (2008). Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods. Fernwood Publishing.

Roberson, Q. M. (2019). Diversity in the workplace: A review, synthesis, and future research agenda. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 69–88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015243

Saba, T., Ozbilgin, M., Ng, Ed. & Cachat‐Rosset, G. (2021). Guest editorial: Ineffectiveness of Diversity Management: Lack of Knowledge, Lack of Interest, or Resistance? Equality, diversity and inclusion, 40(7), 765-769. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2021-374

Syed, J., & Özbilgin, M. (2009). A relational framework for international transfer of diversity management practices. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(12), 2433–2453.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190903363826

Yadav, S. & Lenka, U. (2020). Diversity management: a systematic review. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, (39)8, 901–929. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2019-0197

Zhao, K., Hsieh, W., Faulkner, N., & Smith, L. (2025). A systematic meta-review of organizational diversity and inclusion interventions and their associated outcomes. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 44(9), 53-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-02-2024-0085

Dr. Gaëlle Falcon
Dr. Emilie Doutreloux
Prof. Dr. Marie-Eve Dufour
Dr. Marie-Eve Paquet
Guest Editors

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• diversity management
• DEI
• minorities
• future of work
• work design
• systemic inequality