Le changement diversité comme réalité organisationnelle au Québec : étude exploratoire sur les déclencheurs et les particularités

Diversity management has become increasingly important. It refers to a set of activities designed to respond effectively to a diverse workforce, involving both the fight against discrimination and the valorization of differences as well as the unification of a diverse collective. Reflecting a demographic, sociological, and ideological reality, the consideration of diversity in organizations leads to a rethinking of certain managerial practices and entails fundamental transformations of the organization which leads to it being considered as a change in itself. If each organizational change seems different from the others, the consideration of diversity in organizations is no exception. It is described as a unique case of organizational change, whose process is both complex and dynamic, and is also described as permanent, non-linear, and multi-level. The objective of this exploratory research is to understand the approaches to change related to diversity taken by some organizations in Québec. This qualitative research is based on a sample of nine cases. The data collected from diversity consultants was analyzed with the Nvivo software. This research made it possible to identify a set of triggers for diversity change (i.e. internal and external environmental factors of an ethical, strategic, and legal nature) while emphasizing certain distinctive elements of this particular change (i.e. nature of the change processes and the logic of imposition). A discussion is presented on the relevance of a mixed change that reflects a dynamic and complex aspect instead of a static and linear approach. It shows a co-construction approach that underpins a cultural and global change consisting of an accumulation of micro-changes taking place at a rather slow pace.