A multi-layered approach to accounting for ethno-racial diversity: An Australian study

This paper makes a novel contribution to organisational scholarship and practice by addressing the absence of an operationally useful approach to ethno-racial diversity that adequately accounts for the contested, context-dependent, and power-laden nature of ethnicity and race. Informed by the complexities surrounding the objective/subjective binary to measuring ethno-racial diversity, we develop a multilayered conceptual framework, incorporating describing, grouping and positioning ethno-racial diversity within organisations. Using Australian organisations as a case, and locating organisational practices within Australia’s sociohistorical context, we examine how the measurement of ethno-racial diversity is approached in practice. We show that existing organisational approaches often rely on questions that measure ‘objective’ criteria while also using sanitised language, which are viewed as inadequate for capturing one’s lived and organisational experience of in/exclusion. We further identify the organisational conditions that shape effective measurement under voluntary disclosure, including clarity of purpose and use, communication, and trust. We conclude with a practice-facing discussion of measure, design, reporting, and interpretation beyond the Australian context. In short, we address current weaknesses while showcasing the benefits of taking a more holistic approach to accounting for ethno-racial diversity at the organisational level with lessons for an international audience of scholars, policy makers, employers, organisational leaders, and the broader community.