Organizational Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion in Fortune’s “Best Places to Work”

• In Event: 551 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Paper Sessions. Workplace Diversity: Demography, Policy and Practice

Abstract

Rankings of workplace quality often overlook potential variation in employee outcomes by race, gender, and class. Using survey data from 633,272 employees in 1,054 companies that applied for Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” list between 2006 and 2011, the authors analyze employee perceptions of the extent to which the cultures of these organizations support diversity and inclusion. The authors find that white women and men and women of color in companies selected for the list have more positive perceptions of their employers’ support for diversity, but more negative perceptions of their employer’s support for inclusion, than their counterparts in companies not selected. The results also show that salaried workers have more positive perceptions of diversity and inclusion in both types of companies. The findings highlight the importance of organizational culture for understanding inequality, and raise questions about how corporate rankings lists define collective standards of workplace quality.

Authors

• Joan S.M. Meyers, University of the Pacific

• Ed Carberry, University of Massachusetts Boston