Many organisations aim to create an inclusive workplace and introduce diversity policies to achieve this. These range from statements in job advertisements expressing support for diversity to quotas for underrepresented groups. According to Stückradt, understanding what employees and managers think of these measures is important to their success. ‘Diversity policies are more effective when managers responsible for recruitment support them, but we still know little about this subjective aspect,’ she says.

A statement alone has no effect

Stückradt first investigated whether specific job requirements and diversity statements in job advertisements help combat discrimination. ‘Such non-intrusive measures, in which an organisation merely indicates that it considers diversity important, appear to do little to change who is ultimately hired,’ Stückradt says. According to her, policies that intervene in recruitment processes are needed. But to what extent do employees support such policies?

Most effective measure least popular

To assess support for diversity measures, Stückradt presented a range of policy options to almost 1,400 employees in Dutch organisations. More than 500 of them were involved in recruitment and selection. ‘Participants were told that their organisation intended to update its diversity policy. They were asked which measures they would support, ranging from superficial measures to measures with a strong impact.’

Support decreased sharply as measures interfered more with existing processes. This was particularly the case among managers responsible for recruitment (especially in small organisations). Strict quotas for women or ethnic minorities were the least popular.

‘Diversity policies are only supported when these consist of soft measures with little direct impact,’ Stückradt concludes. ‘Yet we know that more far reaching measures, such as quotas, can be most effective in increasing diversity.’

Employees often not informed

Stückradt also asked 3,000 employees in Dutch organisations to what extent discrimination occurs in their organisation and whether they were aware of its diversity policies.

Most employees believed that discrimination does not occur within their organisation. ‘But we have numerous field experiments showing that substantial discrimination takes place in the Dutch labour market,’ says Stückradt. ‘It is highly unlikely that most respondents work in organisations that are entirely free of discrimination.’

Few employees were also well informed about diversity policies in their organisations. ‘HR staff and employees with higher levels of education were better informed, but even in these groups knowledge is incomplete,’ Stückradt says.

Combine policy measures

Based on these findings, Stückradt advises organisations aiming to create an inclusive workplace not to rely solely on isolated, symbolic measures such as a diversity statement in a job advertisement. ‘Combine different policy measures so that they reinforce one another. Involve the people who work with the policies, such as recruitment managers, in developing them. And embed rules in broader existing regulations and communicate clearly about them.’