Interview: Bureaucracy, Bias, and Diversity – Structural Constraints and Opportunities in Organizations

Abstract

Andreas Müller: The editors of this volume are sitting here with Alexandra Kalev and Vincent Roscigno. Both professors of sociology, Alexandra works at the Tel Aviv University and Vincent works at the Ohio State University. There are some parallels in your respective work. Both of you have been doing empirical research exploring questions of inequality and diversity. What if we begin by asking you to draw the distinction between inequality and diversity?

Alexandra Kalev: It’s a really interesting question. It depends on how you define equality. If inequality is the inequality of means, reducing it doesn’t have to lead to diversity.

Vincent Roscigno: I would agree and also flip around the equation and start with diversity. I don’t think diversity necessarily implies inequality, but it tends to result in inequality in contemporary organizations from what we can tell. This is not an inevitable scenario. It really depends on what happens in an organization.