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"ASQ readers will benefit from analyzing the rich description of this socio-anthropological case study to derive jumping-off points for further theory development as well as fodder for building related research programs. Practitioners will delight in the detailed firsthand accounts of an unexpectedly successful collaboration between consultants and managers. And anyone interested in the cause of creating an inclusive workplace for all individuals will appreciate this well-written, highly insightful narrative of a remarkable effort to change and improve a single organization in the face of some particularly difficult, but perhaps not uncommon, challenges."—Administrative Science Quarterly
The detailed history of a multi-year effort to promote diversity in one organization
In 1995, Meg A. Bond began working as a researcher, consultant, and trainer at “ChemPro”—a New England manufacturing firm that produces specialized chemicals. Brought on board to guide ChemPro’s efforts to create an equitable, efficient, and diverse workplace, for seven years Bond enjoyed open access to the organization’s change process and to all the individuals involved. Using ecological theory as her conceptual framework, Bond delineates the stages of this process as it unfolded, drawing out lessons for workers, managers, and consultants from the nitty-gritty dynamics that emerged as the organization underwent change. Bond addresses such issues as privilege, multiple realities, intent versus impact, interdependence, and reactions—both positive and negative—to diversity interventions. Emphasizing messy dilemmas as well as successful strategies, she offers an energetic and honest appraisal of a long-term diversity effort, with lessons that apply to other institutions and organizations.
Bond’s is a unique multiyear site-specific study addressing multiple dimensions of diversity. Her “hands-on” experience, unusual for a scholar, provides a more complete and nuanced view of what is really required to support a diverse workplace. In a society of growing heterogeneity, this is a central challenge that is increasingly affecting most workplaces.
Endorsements:
“An outstanding contribution to the field... The author provides a strong scholarly foundation for this work and clearly demonstrates expertise in human diversity, organizational consultation, and social ecological (and community psychology) theory. The reference list is comprehensive and includes classic conceptual work as well as more recent scholarship. More impressively, the literature is not simply cited, but used in very nice ways as a basis for approaching conceptual, strategic, and interpretive tasks during the consultation.”—Shelly P. Harrell, Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine University
“Professor Bond does an excellent job of weaving previous research and theory on diversity into her narrative. This is the only book I know of that describes in sufficient detail the history of a multi-year effort to promote diversity in one organization. It provides the kind of depth and analytical perspective that is rare in this field—or any field.”—Cary Cherniss, Professor of Applied Psychology and Director of the Organizational Psychology Program in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University
Click here for TABLE OF CONTENTS
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MEG A. BOND is Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Center for Women and Work at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She is also a Resident Scholar at the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center.
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Learn more about the Center for Women and Work at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
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