The Typology of Approaches to Diversity Management in the Workplace and Their Meaning: The Case of the Employment of Ultra-Orthodox Women in the Israeli Economy

Diversity in the workplace creates concerns not only among employed women, but also among employers and managers. Such concerns might originate from the process of categorizing individuals into distinct and defined social groups, which takes place in employment spaces around the world. Employers fear that hiring members of cultural minorities who require differential treatment will require the investment of time and money resources and trigger nonfunctional conflicts, confusion, frustration, disagreement, negative dynamics, and cultural conflicts.

The consequences of concerns regarding the employment of individuals from diverse backgrounds can be devastating for organizations and employers. These concerns do not only limit employment opportunities, leading to low-employment rates of particular groups and all that that implies. They also affect the organizational climate and employers` attitudes toward the health and work performance of those individuals that have been hired.

This study examined the integration of Ultra-orthodox women in different organizational frameworks from the perspective of managers. In the findings presented in this lecture, we will reveal how managers in the Israeli economy deal with the employment of ultra-Orthodox academic women, an estimate of their assessment of those facts, along with the challenges of integrating them into the workplace. In addition, the factors that help managers to optimally integrate these facts, will be presented.

The current study involved 206 women and men who serve as middle or senior managers in organizations that employ women from minority groups. The study was conducted using a demographic questionnaire and self-report questionnaires to assess the dimensions of a sense of organizational coherence, a climate of diversity and inclusive management.

We used the diversity-climate lens to understand the extent to which organizations implement proactive strategies for managing employees from different cultural backgrounds, to bring different perspectives to the task of addressing the organization’s goals.