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Categorizing Diversity and Managing Identities

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Diversity and Identity in the Workplace

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Abstract

Social identity theory (SIT) is arguably the most influential identity theory today. The grounding idea in this theory is that individuals not only have ‘personal identities’ but also have ‘social identities’: that is, they feel an attachment to one or more groups with which they believe they share an attribute or value that is identity-defining. Group-based diversity management, especially when related to gender- or race-/ethnicity-based social identity, is linked and discussed with regard to SIT-inspired scholarship in its original and more recent developments. The chapter also offers some thoughts on the limitations of the theory to give a complete picture of how to address diversity and identity in the workplace.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Florence Villesèche, Sara Louise Muhr & Lotte Holck

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  1. Florence Villesèche
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  2. Sara Louise Muhr
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  3. Lotte Holck
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Villesèche, F., Muhr, S.L., Holck, L. (2018). Categorizing Diversity and Managing Identities. In: Diversity and Identity in the Workplace. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90614-0_3

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