Can employee resource groups be a relevant voice mechanism for women and ethnic minority employees? A qualitative investigation of voice purposes, processes and outcomes of employee resource groups

Abstract

This paper investigates whether employee resource groups (ERGs), also known as staff networks or affinity groups, can be a relevant voice mechanism for under-represented groups in the workplace. It draws on a conceptual framework focusing on three dimensions: voice purposes, voice processes and voice outcomes.  This framework is used to analyse 36 qualitative interviews with equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) officers and chairs of women and race-based ERGs in public and private sector organisations in the United Kingdom. The evidence provides new knowledge to show how ERGs may be more influential than has been previously recognised in much extant literature. Underpinned by formal and informal voice channels, ERGs can input into a range of organisational areas. Crucially, the importance of ERG voice also stems from ERGs’ unique purpose of representing the collective but group-specific interests of minoritised employees.

Presented by

Isabel Távora is a senior lecturer in human resource management at Alliance Manchester Business School and is a member of the Work and Equalities Institute. Her research explores how labour market actors and institutions can support decent work and equality in employment. Recent research has focused on the impact of the pandemic on collective bargaining and on women. Current research includes a project exploring the role of staff networks in amplifying the voice of women and ethnic minority employees in the workplace, a project investigating equality and diversity policies in higher education and a project exploring the digitalisation of work during the pandemic. Isabel’s research has been funded by the UKRI’s Economic and Social Research Council and the European Commission and has included collaborations with international organisations such as the International Labour Office and the European Trade Union Institute. She is committed to engaged research, which aims to develop the knowledge needed for socially responsible, fair and egalitarian employment practices and human resource management.

Prior to her current appointment at the University of Manchester, Isabel worked three years in Bristol Business School, University of the West of England. She teaches different courses in the fields of HRM, employment relations and equality. Isabel chaired AMBS’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee from August 2018 till August 2021 and successfully led the school’s Athena Swan Bronze application in November 2018.