Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Lecture Notes
Chapter 9: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
Learning Objectives
1. Compare the complex processes of diversity and inclusion
Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
A. Addressing diversity and inclusion is a multilayered process that requires a wider
range of leadership practices.
II. Diversity and Inclusion Explained
A. Definitions
i. Diversity is about variety or difference.
ii. Mor Barak’s definition: Diversity is often used to refer to the mixture of
races, genders, or religions that make up a group of people.
iii. Harrison and Sin define diversity as “the collective amount of differences
among members within a social unit.”
vi. Millennials’ view of diversity:
a. Mix of backgrounds and perspectives.
b. Focus on unique experiences and teamwork.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. Core dimensions of diversity include age, ethnicity, gender,
mental/physical abilities and characteristics, race, and sexual
orientation.
ix. Inclusion is the process of incorporating differing individuals into a group
or organization.
a. Creates an environment where people who are different feel they are
part of the whole.
xii. Schutz (1958) argued that we express our need to be included by how we
communicate with others and we experience less anxiety if our need to be
“in the group” matches the degree to which we want others to “include us.”
xiii. Equity recognizes the historic inequalities that have kept some groups
from having the same access to programs and opportunities as others have.
xv. Approaches to Diversity
a. The United States was originally formed by people seeking to
escape religious persecution elsewhere.
b. As the country evolved, diversity also came to mean addressing the
needs of people who are marginalized in the United States.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
e. Three periods of evolution of diversity: Harvey suggests that the
approach to diversity in the workplace has changed and evolved
over three periods.
• Early years—1960s and 1970s:
o Efforts were made to end discrimination against
African Americans and to secure their legal rights
as spelled out in the U.S. Constitution.
• Assimilation focused on the process of making people from
diverse cultures come together to create one American
culture.
f. Era of valuing diversity—1980s and 1990s:
• The approach to diversity at this time broadened beyond an
emphasis on race and gender to include many dimensions
(sexual orientation, age, physical and mental abilities, etc.).
g. Diversity management and inclusion in the 21st century:
• Inclusive organizations.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
III. Inclusion Framework
A. The Exclusion quadrant (top left) represents individuals in a group or organization
who feel left out and excluded; they do not feel a part of things, and they do not
feel valued.
D. The Inclusion quadrant (lower right) describes individuals who feel they belong
and are valued for their unique beliefs, attitudes, values, and background.
E. The framework illustrates inclusion as an integration of two factors: an
individual’s connectedness and a person’s individuality.
IV. Diversity and Inclusion in Practice
A. Models of Inclusive Practices
i. Ferdman’s framework: Treating inclusion as a multilevel process centered
on each individual’s experience of inclusion.
B. Leader Practices That Advance Diversity and Inclusion
i. Feeling safe
a. To help individuals feel safe, it is important for leaders to treat
followers in nonthreatening ways.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
ii. Feeling Involved and Engaged
a. Leaders must find ways to help individuals become involved and
immersed in the larger group’s efforts.
iii. Feeling Respected and Valued
a. When leaders put themselves in the shoes of their followers, they
can get in touch with what it means to be well thought of, worthy,
and wanted.
iv. Feeling Influential
a. When people express their ideas and are heard, they feel like they
exist and that they are meaningful.
v. Feeling Authentic and Whole
a. The tension between wanting to be yourself while also wanting to
be a part of a group can prevent one feeling authentic and whole.
vi. Recognizing, Attending to, and Honoring Diversity
a. People want to be treated fairly; they do not want to be
discriminated against because of their social identity or the identity
of their social groups.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. Barriers to Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
i. Ethnocentrism
a. Ethnocentrism is the tendency for individuals to place their own
group (ethnic, racial, or cultural) at the center of their observations
of others and the world.
ii. Prejudice
a. Prejudice is a largely fixed attitude, belief, or emotion held by an
individual about another individual or group that is based on faulty
or unsubstantiated data.
iii. Unconscious Bias
a. Also called implicit bias, unconscious bias is the term used to
describe when we have attitudes towards people or associate
stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge that we
are doing so.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
• Labeling: Stereotypes label a group of individuals as the
same at the expense of recognizing the uniqueness of each
individual.
• Stereotypes have a significant impact on how leaders treat
followers.
e. Privilege is an advantage held by a person or group that is based on
age, race, ethnicity, gender, class, or some other cultural
dimension, which gives those who have it power over those who
do not.