British diversity professionals as change agents – radicals, tempered radicals or liberal reformers?

Abstract

This paper explores the role of diversity professionals involved in the development and implementation of organizational equality and diversity policy. The paper draws on in-depth qualitative research with diversity professionals in a broad range of British organizations in the private and public sectors. The analysis unravels who diversity professionals are, how they understand the concepts of equality and diversity and how they develop strategies of change in order to pursue their objectives. The conceptions of ‘liberal’ and ‘radical’ equal opportunities actors (Jewson, N. and D. Mason, 1986 Jewson, N. and Mason, D. 1986. The Theory and Practice of Equal Opportunities Policies: Liberal and Radical Approaches. Sociological Review, 34(2): 307–34. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], ‘The Theory and Practice of Equal Opportunities Policies: Liberal and Radical Approaches’. Sociological Review 34(2): 307–34) and ‘tempered radicals’ (Meyerson, D. and M. Scully, 1995 Meyerson, D. and Scully, M. 1995. Tempered Radicalism and the Politics of Ambivalence and Change. Organization Science, 6(6): 585–600. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Tempered Radicalism and the Politics of Ambivalence and Change.’ Organization Science 6(6): 585–600) are used as frameworks for this analysis.

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