Equality, Inequalities and Diversity: Contemporary Challenges and Strategies

Article Type: Suggested reading From: Strategic Direction, Volume 28, Issue 7

Geraldine Healey, Gill Kirton and Mike NoonPalgrave Macmillan, New York, NY, 2011, 306 pp.

As critical diversity research continues to blossom, literature exploring issues of equality, inequality and diversity in work settings and society remains scant. In an attempt to fill this void, Geraldine Healey, Gill Kirton and Mike Noon’s edited work Equality, Inequalities and Diversity: Contemporary Challenges and Strategies is a welcome addition to the literature because it expands the discourse to include issues of fairness, and discrimination, human differences, the social construction of diversity,linguistic diversity in the UK and Ireland, ethnic and religious diversity in Britain, and the career concerns of young black and minority ethnic people to name a few.

Instead of focusing on the popular topics of shifting demographics, global diversity trends, and definitions of diversity inclusion, the editors and their contributing authors choose to examine unexpected “consequences of legislation initiatives; challenges taken for granted, and [ask] important questions about the contemporary nature of inequality and diversity” (p. xi) in Europe and North America for the purpose of bringing issues of oppression and discrimination in work settings and the larger society to the forefront (pp. 1-2).

The book looks at four distinctive themes spanning 16 chapters. The first theme defines and discusses the construct of intersectionality and its relationship to intersectional forms of oppression and discrimination, for example, the intentional exclusion of black women’s ways of knowing from the white feminist school of thought (Hooks, 1981). The second theme looks at the ways in which the diversity management paradigm has taken the place of equal opportunity and fairness policies. The third theme highlights the strengths and weaknesses of laws supporting equality for all as well as the intentions of supporting strategies. The final theme then addresses the dilemma of transforming current organizational systems into ones that are equitable and open-minded.

Evaluation

One strength of this book is that it is written by scholars for scholars and practitioners who are very concerned and passionate about contemporary issues of equality, inequality and diversity in Europe and North America. Another strength of this book is that it “gives voice to polyrhythmic realities”(Sheared, 1999), or more explicitly, critical issues of race, gender, class,language, religion, social class, and sexual orientation, as well as other important organisational and societal diversity issues in Europe and North America through the use of contemporary perspectives and theoretical lenses. An additional strength of this book is that it provides information on the evolution of diversity legislation in Europe and North America, which is a common theme throughout this anthology. This book as well provides several good examples of modern inequalities, and it offers definitions of key terms in each chapter. However, its weaknesses include the following:Because each chapter is written from a different point of view, it is difficult to determine the audience of this book, even though the editors stated that it is a textbook that can be use used by students who have not had a diversity course.The chapter topics and the writing style seem too advanced for students that have never taken a diversity course. Therefore, I view this book as being more beneficial for upper level undergraduate and graduate students who have had an introductory course focusing on for example, The History of Diversity in the Workplace and Society in Europe and North America. While it is challenging to create consistency in any edited book, this anthology could have used a little more cohesiveness or at least a few sentences at the end of chapters 2 through 15 to briefly introduce how common themes in subsequent chapters are inter-related.None of the chapters had discussion questions, therefore, students and instructors will have missed an opportunity in the classroom to engage in critical thought and dialogue on structured questions crafted by the co-editors and chapter authors.Aside from the weaknesses highlighted above, the book’s relevance and thought-provoking content make it a must have for professors who are teaching upper level undergraduate and graduate diversity courses focused on issues of equality, inequality and diversity in Europe and North America. This book is also an ideal supplemental resource for researchers, practitioners and consultants involved in various aspects of diversity work. On a final note, what was made clear throughout this volume of scholarly works is that:

[…] moving organisations [and society] toward a state of valuing,embracing, and appreciating diversity is counterproductive if acts of racism[and oppression] continue to persist (Byrd and Scott, 2011).[…] a fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open honest dialogue (Cornel West, 2011).

I want to personally thank the co-editors and contributing authors of this anthology for re-emphasising these facts!

In the editors’ own words:

The book is the work of a group of scholars who remain committed to challenging inequities. It seeks to expose the realities of contemporary inequalities and diversity. [In] doing so, it reveals not only the predictable resilience of inequalities, but also the unanticipated and unintended impact of legislation and unforeseen and surprising findings in both the national and international context (p. 2).

Reviewed by Chaunda L. Scott, Oakland University.

This review was originally published in Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 518-20.