Beyond a Numbers Game? Impact of Diversity and Inclusion on the Perception of Organizational Justice

• Published date: 01 May 2022
• Author: Trang Hoang,Jiwon Suh,Meghna Sabharwal
• Date: 01 May 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13463

Beyond a Numbers Game? Impact of Diversity and Inclusion on the Perception of Organizational Justice 537

Research Article:

Race and Gender

Symposium

Abstract: Organizational justice, diversity, and inclusion are central tenets of social equity in public organizations.

This study explores the effects of diversity management and inclusive leadership practices on employees’ perceptions

of organizational justice. Drawing from FedScope and the 2019 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, we find that

an increase in the number of women and Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) is not sufficient to

improve employees’ perceptions toward organizational justice; rather, as workforce diversity increases, the perception of

organizational justice decreases when the relationship is moderated by an active form of diversity management, such

as an organization’s policies and programs to promote heterogeneous workgroups. The results suggest that as workplace

diversity increases, inclusive leadership practices positively influence organizational justice. The findings also indicate

that the impact of diversity and inclusion on employees’ perceptions of organizational justice differs by gender and race.

Evidence for Practice

• Merely increasing the numbers of women and Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) in the

workplace is not sufficient and might lower the perception of organizational justice among employees.

• Targeted hiring of women and BIPOC and merely offering policies and programs to promote heterogeneous

workgroups (i.e., active diversity management) can be perceived as unfair work practices.

• Inclusive leadership practices create a sense of belongingness and appreciation of individual uniqueness in the

workplace.

• Inclusive leadership practices increase the perception of organizational justice among women and BIPOC,

making them feel valued as members of the organization and not mere “tokens.”

• Managers and leaders need to encourage an inclusive working environment in order to minimize conflicts

among different workgroups and to promote equitable practices.

Diversity management—the fourth pillar

of public administration with social

equity at its core—aims to create equal

opportunities among different groups of employees,

promote workforce representation, and enhance

social and organizational justice (Bradbury and

Kellough2008; Dolan and Rosenbloom2003;

Gooden and Portillo2011; Meier and Nigro1976;

Riccucci2009; Sowa and Selden2003; Wilkins and

Keiser2006). The critical notion underlying diversity

initiatives is that diversity management programs

and policies seek to provide equal opportunities

for all, unhindered by individual identities such as

race, gender, education, status, abilities, or religion

(Choi2009; Ivancevich and Gibert2000; Pitts2009;

Sabharwal, Levine and D’Agostino.2018). However,

effectively managing a diverse workforce toward

the goal of promoting organizational fairness and

social equity poses many challenges (Gooden2015;

Meier2014; Pitts and Wise2010; Riccucci and Van

Ryzin2017; Selden1997; Wise and Tschirhart2000).

A diverse workforce can increase cognitive outcomes

such as greater creativity or innovation, however,

the negative effects are acknowledged in terms of

behavioral outcomes such as workplace conflict,

miscommunication, and lower levels of trust and

cooperation among members of a heterogenous team

(Chattopadhyay1999; Cox2001; Fujimoto, Hartel

and Azmat2013; Tsui and Gutek1999). While

diversity management programs have a primary goal

in promoting organizational inclusion of all groups

within the organization, these initiatives, such as

targeted hiring, work-life balance, family-friendly

policies, or diversity training, are often met with

suspicion and are criticized for being biased and

providing an unfair advantage to underrepresented

groups (Ashikali and Groeneveld2015; Dobbin and

Kalev2016; Yang and Konrad2011). Organizational

fairness and the integrity of organizational process

and evaluation come into question, giving rise to

workplace conflict and creating an environment

of exclusion (Avery2011; Bassett-Jones2005;

Beyond a Numbers Game? Impact of Diversity and Inclusion

on the Perception of Organizational Justice

Trang Hoang Jiwon Suh

Meghna Sabharwal

University of Nebraska at Omaha University of Texas at Arlington

University of Texas at Dallas

Meghna Sabharwal is a Professor

and Head in the Public and Nonprofit

Management Program at the University

of Texas at Dallas. Her research is focused

on public human resources management,

specifically diversity, equity, and inclusion.

She has widely published articles in public

administration journals, and the winner of

three best paper awards. Her books include:

Public Personnel Administration (sixth Ed.);

Public Administration in South Asia: India,

Bangladesh, and Pakistan;

and

Human

Resources Information Systems: A Guide for

Public Administrators

.

Email: mxs095000@utdallas.edu

Jiwon Suh is an Assistant Professor

of Public Affairs and Planning at the

University of Texas at Arlington. Her

research focuses on organizational behavior,

performance and accountability, and HR

management in the public and nonprofit

sectors. She has published articles in

several journals including

Review of Public

Personnel Administration

,

Public Personnel

Management

, and

Nonprofit Management

& Leadership

.

Email: jiwon.suh@uta.edu

Trang Hoang is an Assistant Professor

in the School of Public Administration,

University of Nebraska at Omaha, where

she teaches graduate-level courses in public

and nonprofit budgeting, human resource

management, and research methods. Her

primary research interests include public

pension, municipal fiscal health, nonprofit

financial management, and diversity

management. She has recently published

in

Public Administration Review, Journal of

Public Administration Research and Theory

,

and

Social Science Journal

.

Email: tranghoang@unomaha.edu

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 82, Iss. 3, pp. 537–555. © 2022 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13463.

538 Public Administration Review • May | June 2022

Leslie2019). In explaining this dilemma, recent studies imply

that increasing workforce representation is not enough (Ashikali,

Groeneveld, and Kuipers.2021; Edwards, Holmes, and Sowa2019;

Headley and Wright2020). To fully tap into the intended

consequences of diversity initiatives, organizations need to take

actions to integrate a diverse workforce into the fabric of the

organization to create an inclusionary work environment (Findler,

Wind, and Mor-Barak2007; Ivancevich and Gibert2000; Moon

and Christensen2020; Pless and Maak2004; Shore et al.2018).

Given the growing criticism about the effectiveness of diversity

management programs, studying the impacts of diversity

management and inclusive leadership practices on employee’s

perception of organizational justice is pivotal because of two

key reasons. First, the study helps gain a deeper understanding

on whether employees perceive passive diversity and active

diversity management programs as fair and whether inclusive

leadership practices can help promote the fairness perception.

Second, as research shows, organizational justice perception

is one of the workplace attitudes that significantly influence

employees’ outcomes, including performance, job satisfaction, and

commitment (Ambrose and Schminke2003; Cho and Sai2013;

Roberson and Colquitt2005; Rubin and Kellough2012). Thus, we

postulate that if diversity and inclusion initiatives are implemented

effectively in a way that they can address the fairness concern

and enhance organizational justice, organizations can reap more

positive outcomes from those diversity and inclusion initiatives,

including improvement in workplace outcomes and behaviors.

This study focuses on answering three questions: (1) what are the

impacts of passive diversity and active diversity management on

employees’ perception of organizational justice? (2) What are the

impacts of inclusive leadership practices on employees’ perception of

organizational justice? (3) Does the impact of diversity management

and inclusive leadership practices on employees’ perception of

organizational justice differ by gender and race?

This study advances diversity management and organizational

justice research and management practices on numerous fronts.

Using the unintended consequence theory and the organizational

justice theory, this study offers an explanation of why some diversity

initiatives do not achieve their intended outcomes. Although several

rationales may be offered to link diversity management programs

and organizational justice, most of the studies are grounded in

the theory of representative bureaucracy, which posits that passive

or demographic representation can potentially promote active

representation in policy outcomes and management practices

(Andrews et al.2005). In this study, we provide an empirical

analysis to advance the argument that without inclusive leadership

practices, diversity management programs, such as diversity hiring

or organizational policies and programs to promote heterogeneous

workgroups, may not always be effective in achieving its intended

goal of enhancing organizational justice. Additionally, since

individual identity can affect work experiences and socialization

processes (Breslin, Pandey, and Riccucci2017; Fay et al.2020;

Guy and Newman2004; Mor-Barak1999; Prasad2001), we

use our analysis to gain a better understanding of the differences

in perceptions on diversity, inclusion, and organizational justice

by race and gender. Most studies on diversity and organizational

justice/fairness focus on a single identity dimension; this study is

among the few exploring diversity and organizational justice from

the lens of both gender and race.

More importantly, this study contributes to the literature by

providing some groundwork to distinguish between active diversity

management and inclusive leadership practices. More often, these

two concepts are placed together in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

(DEI) statements without a clear understanding of the differential

impact these two management practices have on organizational

outcomes. In contrast, this study distinguishes passive diversity,

active diversity management, and inclusive leadership practices and

assesses its impact on organizational justice. This study finds that

increasing the number of women and BIPOC in the workplace and

offering active diversity management programs, including diversity

hiring initiatives or organizational accommodations, may not be

sufficient to enhance equity and fairness within the organization;

what matters is inclusive leadership practices to enhance positive

impacts of a diverse workforce. While there is increasing attention

on inclusion and its positive impact on employees’ perception

of organizational policies and practices, the concept of inclusive

leadership practices is relatively new in public administration

research. Currently, literature is limited to general discussion and

conceptualization of this concept (Bae et al.2017; Nelson and

Piatak2021; Ohemeng and McGrandle2021; Roberson2006;

Shore et al.2011.2018). This study aims to fill this gap in the

literature by providing empirical evidence of the positive effects

of inclusive leadership practices in promoting employee’s fairness

perception.

The following section provides a literature review on organizational

justice, diversity management, and inclusion practices, followed

by the conceptual framework and the hypotheses. In the Data and

Methods section, we describe the dataset and specify the empirical

model. The findings are presented in the Results section. We

conclude with the Discussion section, where we highlight the study’s

contributions to the literature and provide practical implications for

public organizations and leaders.

Organizational Justice

Organizational justice is broadly defined as the individual’s and the

group’s perception toward the fair treatment of its employees from

an organization (Greenberg1990; Sheppard and Lewicki1987).

Previous research suggests that organizational justice is a socially

constructed phenomenon with multidimensions, in which the

justice dimension is correlated with employee’s behavioral reactions

and outcomes (Cohen-Charash and Spector2001; Colquitt2001).

Organizational justice dimensions include distributional justice,

procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational

justice (Choi and Rainey2014; Cho and Sai2013; Moon2016;

Rubin2009; Rubin and Kellough2012). Distributional justice

stems from equity theory and refers to an individual’s fairness

perception of outcomes such as pay, rewards, and promotion (Byrne

and Cropanzano2001; Choi2011; Folger and Konovsky1989;

Gilliland1994; Leventhal1976). Individuals judge distributional

justice by comparing their own ratio of outcomes/input with

those of others (Adams1965; Colquitt et al.2006; Choi2011).

Procedural justice reflects the individual’s perception of fairness

in the organizational processes through which decisions are

made (Leventhal1980; Rubin and Weinberg2016). Procedural