Communicatively Co-Constituting Pathways of an Inclusive Workplace: A Participant-Driven Methodology

In this study, I explore how employees with a diverse range of standpoints co-constitute pathways for creating an inclusive workplace. I use a participant-driven methodology to understand how employees with diverse social identities envision characteristics of an inclusive workplace. I then use Interpretive Structural Modeling (Warfield, 1976) to understand how participants perceive the relationship among the key characteristics. The results and analysis suggest one particular pathway for creating an inclusive workplace. First, having a diverse workforce across all levels of the organization and an environment of psychological safety increase the likelihood employees would then commit to inclusion. After establishing a genuine commitment, employees would more likely enact intercultural empathy and advocate for an inclusive organizational infrastructure. Based on these findings, I offer metatheoretical, theoretical, and methodological contributions that, when taken together, work to reimagine how people can organize around diversity and inclusion. More specifically, I add to the conversation of engaged scholarship, communication as constitutive of organizations and diversity management studies, and Interactive Management. I then offer three practical implications organizational leaders can use to inform future organizing efforts: intentional hiring practices, creating an environment of psychological safety, and educational programming. I conclude by offering limitations and future directions for researchers and practitioners.