Gender and Workforce Diversity

Sex Roles, Vol. 45, Nos. 5/6, September 2001 ( C 2002)

Gender and Diversity in Organizations: Past, Present, and Future Directions
Audrey J. Murrell1
University of Pittsburgh

Erika Hayes James
University of Virginia

This introduction reviews some of the key issues that have been studied by researchers focused on gender and diversity in organizations. Issues such as discrimination, affirmative action, barriers to career advancement, and sexual harassment at work are discussed. Although the study of gender and diversity in organizations has expanded in the last decade, key areas of research are still underrepresented. Issues for future research in this area are discussed.

OVERVIEW The issues of gender and diversity in organizations are inextricably linked. Researchers, practitioners, and even laypersons have known for decades that women and racial minorities constitute a growing percentage of the labor force. More importantly, this growth exists at all levels of the organizational hierarchy. That said, however, groups that represent a statistical or social minority, or both continue to face challenges in U.S. organizations. A variety of factors have been shown to influence work-related outcomes for women and people of color, including overall corporate climate, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, occupational segregation, and exclusion from mentoring opportunities. Although issues facing diversity in organizational careers are complex enough to fill several volumes, this
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whom correspondence should be addressed at Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, 312 Mervis Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260; e-mail: [e-mail]. 243
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special issue includes a diverse range of empirical and theoretical work that examines many of the issues facing women, people of color, and yes, even White men, in today’s organizations.

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