Intercultural Training for Social Justice in Organizations: A Research-Action in Italy

In today’s rapidly evolving socio-political landscape, organizations encounter new challenges in managing their workforces. There is an increasing demand for recognition and social justice from historically marginalized and disadvantaged groups, which organizations must address effectively to ensure fairness, equality, and, consequently, employee well-being. One of the key strategies that can be employed is training in intercultural competence—starting with managers and supervisors and eventually extending to the entire workforce. This initiative is vital for developing the organization’s ability to address specific cultural and religious needs, thereby fostering greater social justice.

Such practices are integral to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which are primarily adopted by large companies but are relevant for all organizations—both public and private—given that no sector is exempt from increasing diversity. While these policies are often driven by the economic benefits of diversity, they also reflect a normative commitment to social justice. This is not a mere return to affirmative action; rather, it emphasizes compliance with anti-discrimination standards aimed at effectively addressing the needs of minority groups.

The purpose of this paper is to present an action research intervention conducted as part of a Ph.D. project. Following qualitative research focused on managing cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Italy, one participating company was selected to receive intercultural training. The goal of this training was to introduce the ISO 30415 framework of 2021, a tool designed to guide organizations in implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.