Title
Toward a Taxonomy of Diversity at Work: Developing and Validating the Workplace Diversity Inventory
Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Psychology
Advisor
Keith James
Date of Award
1-1-2011
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.) in Psychology
Department
Psychology
Physical Description
1 online resource (iv, 111 p.) : ill. (some col.)
Subjects
Inclusion, Identity, Diversity climate, Diversity in the workplace, Work environment, Organizational justice, Quality of work life
DOI
10.15760/etd.158
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to develop a taxonomy of workplace diversity and examine its implications for understanding and predicting diversity at work. A 7-dimension taxonomy was originally developed by reviewing contemporary literature on diversity in the workplace. The taxonomy is grounded in Social Identity Theory. Preliminary research found that each of the seven dimensions of the taxonomy were present in 78 critical incidents describing work-relevant diversity dynamics. The current study reports the development and administration of an instrument, the Workplace Diversity Inventory (WDI), which was used to empirically examine the 7-factor model of the taxonomy in over 20 different industries. Exploratory factor analysis using data from 209 respondents supported a six-dimension taxonomy, with one factor from the proposed taxonomy (Leadership) collapsed into two of the included WDI dimensions (Diversity Climate and Organizational Justice). Subsequent confirmatory factor analysis indicated an adequate to good fit for the six-factor model, with the WDI reduced from 47 to 24 items. Results and implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/7240
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Aisha Smith, "Toward a Taxonomy of Diversity at Work: Developing and Validating the Workplace Diversity Inventory" (2011). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 158.
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/158
10.15760/etd.158
Description
Portland State University. Dept. of Psychology