Stop Making the Business Case for Diversity
In recent years, the business case for diversity has emerged as the go-to argument for why organizations should prioritize diversity in their recruiting efforts. Though most organizations don’t feel the need to explain why they care about core values such as innovation, resilience, or integrity, when it comes to diversity, lengthy justifications on the value of hiring a “diverse workforce” have become the norm.
At Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, Dr. Oriane Georgeac researches how individuals respond to organizations’ messages about diversity and their justifications for why they value diversity in their workforce. Her findings show that organizations relying on a business case to justify diversity among their ranks may inadvertently alienate and hurt their efforts to recruit members of historically underrepresented communities.
Listen to the Episode
Presented by Notre Dame Law School
Monday, April 1, 2024 12:00 pm
In recent years, the business case for diversity has emerged as the go-to argument for why organizations should prioritize diversity in their recruiting efforts. Though most organizations don’t feel the need to explain why they care about core values such as innovation, resilience, or integrity, when it comes to diversity, lengthy justifications on the value of hiring a “diverse workforce” have become the norm.
At Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, Dr. Oriane Georgeac researches how individuals respond to organizations’ messages about diversity and their justifications for why they value diversity in their workforce. Her findings show that organizations relying on a business case to justify diversity among their ranks may inadvertently alienate and hurt their efforts to recruit members of historically underrepresented communities.
The DEI Podcast with Max Gaston is sponsored by Notre Dame Law School and co-sponsored on ThinkND by the Black Alumni of Notre Dame, the Alumni Rainbow Community of Notre Dame (ARC ND), YoungND, Native American Alumni, Notre Dame Women Connect, Hispanic Alumni of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Senior Alumni, and Asian Pacific Alumni of Notre Dame. Register to receive emails about upcoming episodes of The DEI Podcast.
View EventMeet the Speaker: Oriane Georgeac
Oriane Georgeac is an Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. Her research interests focus on how people respond to organizational messages about diversity. In one program of research, she investigates the effects of organizations’ justifications for why they value diversity on underrepresented group members and team managers. In another stream of her research, she examines how people respond to information reflecting organizations’ achievements in increasing women’s representation in top leadership. Her research across these two streams offers novel insights into how organizations’ efforts to support diversity may paradoxically prevent them from advancing toward their diversity goals.
Dr. Georgeac’s work has been published in top journals in psychology and management, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Social Psychological and Personality Science. Her work has also won multiple awards, and has been covered by a variety of media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Economist, The Telegraph, and The Hill.
Dr. Georgeac got her PhD from London Business School. Prior to joining BU, she worked at Yale University’s School of Management from 2020-2023. In addition to her research, Dr. Georgeac currently teaches Negotiations in the MBA and undergraduate programs at Questrom School of Business.