Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the Global Value Chain

Abstract

Opinion: Although many global and multinational organizations today have global diversity management statements, strategies and policies, their practices of diversity tend to remain local at the national level, rather than to comply with the global policies that organizations espouse to have [1-3]. There are significant reasons for this. First, diversity means different things across different countries as history gives meaning to diversity and inclusion [4-7]. For example, in the case of Britain the colonial past and therefore multiculturalism has been the dominant rationale for diversity [5]. Yet, in the case of Germany, the Nazi past prevents measurement and discussion of race and ethnic diversity unlike the way it is customary in English speaking countries Al Ariss et al. Second owing to significant differences among social movements and historical context that give meaning to categories of diversity and inclusion, highly varied priorities, practices and regulatory schemes have developed in each country [8]. Third, laws that regulate the diversity and Inclusion in organizations are national rather than global or international in nature, which means that in the absence of international laws in this field, cross-nationally consistent regulation of global organizations for diversity and inclusion remains an aloof ideal [9].