RSC5: Presumed Fair: Ironic Effects of Organizational Diversity Structures.

Exploring the paper Kaiser, C.R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T.L., Brady, L.M. and Shapiro, J.R., 2013. Presumed fair: ironic effects of organizational diversity structures. Journal of personality and social psychology, 104(3), p.504.

Blog one of five, in a series by Dr Chrissi McCarthy.

Welcome to the fifth instalment of our research-to-social cycle (RSC) blogs, where we examine a research paper that has had a big impact on our thinking and explore it through a day-to-day lens.

The week ahead

Ever wondered what happens after we put an EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) policy in place? How pdo eople react? Do they care? Does it make them behave better? Could it make them behave worse?

These were the questions Kaiser et al wanted to answer and what we will look at this month in RSC5.

As we go through the week, I would encourage you to refer back to the paper. Please do read it, cite it and share it. Then tell us what you thought. Did we sum it up well? Perhaps you feel we misunderstood something or left out a key point? Let us know. Discussion is at the heart of learning.

The paper: Presumed fair: ironic effects of organizational diversity structures.

Year: 2013

Authors: Kaiser, C.R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T.L., Brady, L.M. and Shapiro, J.R.

Blog 1: Introducing R2SC 5

Blog 2: Why this paper matters

Blog 3: How do they know what they know (research methods)

Blog 4: What they found

Blog 5: Round up. To close the research-to-social cycle, our resident EDI outsider Natalie will review the blogs and offer her takeaways on what the research, and what we at COBE recommend to put the research into action in your workplace

What are the Research-to-Social Cycles?

Not everyone has the time or luxury to get up close with academic research in EDI, and even if they do, they might not have stumbled upon these particular papers.

So we want to bring you closer to the research we have found important by introducing you to a new research paper each month, on the third Monday of the month, with five blogs across that week.

Research to social cycle

We will discuss the research, its real-world impact, and what you can do to implement its findings. Perhaps importantly, these blogs will be written by humans rather than generative AI, so we can really understand the human element of the research and why it matters to us. (Note: I will never not be using Grammarly).

The idea behind the Research-to-Social Cycle blog series is to help bridge the research-practice gap in EDI. Currently, valuable research insights are being missed, which hinders our ability to improve our practice and our environments.

We want to help bridge that gap.

We hope you enjoy the series. Please let us know if we have successfully brought you closer to EDI research, so you can implement what is helpful in your practice.

Here is our schedule for 2025:

Published: RSC1 Jun – Blogs start here

McCarthy, C., Barnard, S., Thomson, D. and Dainty, A., 2021. Understanding gender equality policy and practice gaps through the lens of organisational justice: Development of an employee alignment model. Frontiers in Sociology, 6, p.681086.

Published: RSC2 Jul Blogs start here

Van den Brink, M. and Benschop, Y., 2012. Slaying the seven‐headed dragon: The quest for gender change in academia. Gender, Work & Organization, 19(1), pp.71-92.

Published: RSC3 Aug Blogs start here

Leslie, L.M., 2019. Diversity initiative effectiveness: A typological theory of unintended consequences. Academy of Management Review, 44(3), pp.538-563.

Published: RSC4 Sept Blogs start here

Kleinman, S. and Copp, M., 2009. Denying social harm: Students’ resistance to lessons about inequality. Teaching Sociology, 37(3), pp.283-293.

This Month – RSC4 Sep

Kaiser, C.R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T.L., Brady, L.M. and Shapiro, J.R., 2013. Presumed fair: ironic effects of organizational diversity structures. Journal of personality and social psychology, 104(3), p.504.

RSC6 Nov