Striving for Inclusion of Diverse Employees: How Important is the Context?

Abstract

Organisations are making efforts to enhance diversity and become inclusive, yet there is little agreement on what leads an organisation to become inclusive. This article explores how organisations become inclusive through certain policies, practices, and behaviours. We conducted this study on a multinational subsidiary based in Pakistan with its parent company headquartered in Europe. Single case study methodology was used along with semi-structured interviews to gather in-depth data. Our findings suggest that inclusive organisations and inclusion can be considered relative concepts based on the context. An effort to find standardised policies, practices and behaviours to create inclusive organisations may not be possible. Organisations may be considered inclusive in the context that they operate in. The study strongly demonstrates the need to further refine the concept of inclusive organisations especially in light of societal context. The study serves as a valuable point of discussion in understanding how local operating context is balanced with international transfer of human resource (HR) practices. Our study contributes to diversity and inclusion literature through discussing behavioural and procedural elements that contribute towards building an inclusive workplace in a non-western context.