A Critique of Organizational “Diversity”

A Critique of Organizational “Diversity” Rhetoric & An Effort to Refocus the Academy. Mbongi Talk by Oscar Stewart, Ph.D.

Dr. Stewart will critique the curiously inclusive organizational conceptualizations of diversity as well as the business literature’s narrow focus on commodifying workplace diversity. Then, working from his conception of a commitment to “diversity” as a commitment to the success of historically and systematically marginalized and excluded groups (focusing on Black populations), he will examine the mechanisms creating and perpetuating the need for the rhetoric of workplace diversity and their foundations that privilege whiteness. Dr. Stewart will finish with an example of how scholars can refocus the organizational literature away from typical “diversity” work toward a specific commitment to social justice for certain groups of people, namely Black, Latinx, and Indigenous populations. 

Guest Biography:

Oscar Stewart is an assistant professor of management in the College of Business. Oscar primarily teaches the seminar course Business and Society, and his research focuses on the intersection of organizational theory, strategy and business ethics. His main research stream is focused on corporate irresponsibility and includes a theoretical account of corporate strategic irresponsibility, empirical exploration of corporate strategic irresponsibility’s mechanisms, as well as an exploration of the determinants of corporate integrity violations in the pharmaceutical industry. Oscar earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina Charlotte’s Interdisciplinary Organizational Science Program. Prior to his doctoral work, Oscar worked at Travelers Insurance as a commercial insurance underwriter and as a program facilitator in talent management.

View the event flyer (pdf)