in black and minority ethnic professionals. Akcakoca’s work examined the world
of banking in Turkey and the intersections of gender and religion, which made
way for Losert’s paper on the diversity experience through the eyes of
employees, workers’ councils and management. The final paper was given by
Wright whose research topic focused on the intersecction of gender, sexuality
and class in non-traditionally female work.
The second keynote speaker Professor Myrtle Bell captured the debates and the
themes present for much of the conference cobining a personal and academic
perspective to diversity research. Bell explored the meaning of equality,
diversity, and inclusion at work, posing questions regarding where we have been
and where we are going with diversity from a primarily North American
perspective. She shared experiences from her own journey, taking the audience
through some of the tribulations that shaped the woman she has become.
Passionately, she made the point through various case studies that while some
things have changed, there is still much more to be done with regards to
embracing all kinds of difference in organisations and societies, including
differences related to religion and physical appearance.
Overall the work presented at the conference indicated the diverse ways in which
diversity is defined and investigated as well as the important role of national
context in determining the differences that are relevant and meaningful for
workers. It also highlighted the potential that increased sophistication with the
way we do diversity research has for impacting positively and in a meaningful
way on many facets of organisational life
References
Jackson, S . E., and Schuler, R . S. (2003), Managing human resources through
strategic partnerships. (Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western) .
Tajfel, Henri; Turner, John (1979). "An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict",
in Austin, William G.; Worchel, Stephen: The Social Psychology of Intergroup
Relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole, 94-109.