Diversifying the workplace in nonprofit organizations: Discourses and perspectives on ethnic diversity

Sara Elloukmani, Stijn Oosterlynck, Peter Raeymaeckers

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This study analyses the perspectives of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) on workplace diversity. Organizational diversity is a well-established research topic in both profit management and organization studies, as well as in nonprofit scholarship. However, diversity is often discussed from a managerial point of view and, particularly in nonprofits, with little attention to workplace diversity. Using interview data from 25 Belgian NPOs, we explore how leaders in different types of nonprofits approach workplace diversity, discursively and in their organizational practices. Our analysis is centered around Maier and Meyer's typology on nonprofit governance and aims to understand how workplace diversity is perceived in organizations with a domestic, professionalist, grassroots, and civic discourse. We outline the main diversity perspectives underlying these governance discourses. Our study reveals that the way NPO leaders approach workplace diversity is shaped by their overall governance, resulting in differing discourses that go beyond business or social justice rationales. We conclude that there are various ways in which NPOs differentiate diversity, making it important not only to go beyond a managerial/business and social justice discourse, but also to unpack the different forms in which civic or grassroots discourses for example manifest themselves in the nonprofit sector.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)523-544
JournalNonprofit Management and Leadership
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2024
Externally publishedYes

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders [application number 11G7622N]. The data collection of this study was made possible by the Civil Society and Innovations Flanders program. The authors also wish to thank the leaders of the participating organizations for sharing their time and insights as well as Editor Professor Lewis Faulk who guided the review process in a professional and supportive manner. We also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful feedback. This work was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders [application number 11G7622N]. The data collection of this study was made possible by the Civil Society and Innovations Flanders program. The authors also wish to thank the leaders of the participating organizations for sharing their time and insights as well as Editor Professor Lewis Faulk who guided the review process in a professional and supportive manner. We also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful feedback.

FundersFunder number
Civil Society and Innovations Flanders program
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek11G7622N

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