The Influence of Diversity Climate on Employer Branding: 2020 and Beyond

Employer branding of a positive diversity reputation creates the expectation that an organization is a good place to work for traditionally excluded groups. Due to today’s racial animus in the US and accompanying beliefs towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives (DEI), employees are apt to pay close attention to the messages that leaders in Predominantly White Organizations (PWOs) send to prospective and current employees. Not only are organizations apt to reflect upon their commitment to DEI (Feintzeig, 2020), but employees from traditionally excluded groups may rethink their participation in DEI and their commitment to helping a company build a brand and develop products when their contributions may be questioned. Conservative employees from higher status groups may make demands on their leaders that defy their current DEI practices (Sonnemaker, 2020). The paper examines employer branding of diversity practices in PWOs in the US and contributes to the existing DEI research in two primary ways. First, we outline the problem that using diversity in employer branding poses in PWOs with low diversity climates. Then, we propose a framework that extends our understanding of DEI that can be used by management and human resource professionals to facilitate employer branding.