Sociological Relevance of the Diversity Concept(s)? for a More Careful Debate

Scholars who take critical positions towards the concept(s) of diversity and its related practices can be divided into two groups: First, those who assess the ubiquitous ‘diversity turn’ as fundamentally flawed. In this context, the term of diversity is perceived as deeply immersed by principles of marketability and economization (e.g. Noon 2007; Prügl 2011) and thus inappropriate for analyzing social inequalities and questions of inclusion. Some scholars go even so far as to identify the ‘diversity turn’ as one of the causes of the increasing inequalities in contemporary societies. They assume that the “buzz of diversity” (Ahmed 2012: 61) might distract from the fight against racism or represents “at best a distraction and at worst an essentially reactionary position” (Michaels 2006: 16) because it leaves questions of economic inequalities “absolutely untouched” (ibid.: 75). In contrast, the second group of scholars, who also keep a critical distance, approach the ‘diversity phenomenon’ rather as “socially (re)produced in on-going, context-specific processes” (Zanoni et al. 2010: 10) and thus neither solely driven by business rationales nor predetermined regarding its empirical ramifications.

Against this background, I suggest that it is not diversity concepts, but rather the respective sociological debate in continental Europe, which needs re-adjustment (see also Krell 2014). This debate mostly neglects decades of critical diversity (management) studies in the Anglo-Saxon area, and maintains the assumption that the concepts of diversity are intrinsically insensitive to inequalities and power relations. Further, ongoing empirical research about the multi-faceted and ambivalent effects of diversity related practices attracts little to no attention because the debate often remains on an abstract level. Consequently, instead of (re-)shaping and advancing differentiated, power-sensitive concepts of diversity, the issue plays a marginal role in the sociological mainstream despite its increasing social relevance.