How Firms Turn Middle Managers into Diversity Leaders

In 2007, the Conference Board published a piece calling middle managers “the biggest roadblock to diversity and inclusion” for standing in the way of change efforts. Today, many chief diversity officers report that they have failed both to diversify middle management and to get middle managers involved in promoting inclusion. We explore popular diversity programs that create “paper” or “symbolic” principles for achieving diversity (diversity policy statements and guidelines for hiring, promotion, and discharge), as well as programs that engage middle managers in promoting diversity (special recruitment and mentoring programs, and diversity task forces). “Paper” policies often fall flat, but by getting managers involved in finding new talent, mentoring staff, and designing new diversity initiatives, firms have turned them into champions of diversity.

Our quantitative analyses, tracking more than 800 firms over more than three decades, show that “paper” policies often have adverse effects, while manager-led targeted recruitment programs, mentoring programs, and diversity taskforces have been hugely effective at diversifying the ranks of management. Interviews with managers document why these programs are so effective.