Enhancing Retention of Women, Minorities, and Employees with Disabilities: An Organizational Inclusion Perspective

Enhancing organizational diversity and inclusion has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Research suggests that diversity and inclusion positively affects organizational outcomes such as higher employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intentions to stay, higher innovation and performance, and expansion of outreach to diverse client base or customer groups. Significant progress has occurred through legislative and structural reforms to promote diversity and inclusion, yet organizations have a long way to go in bringing a cultural change that genuinely values diversity and enables inclusion for all. This dissertation is motivated to advance research that helps and guides modern organizations in achieving cultural change for higher diversity and inclusion. It aims to contribute to the theory and practice of diversity and inclusion in public organizations by taking a nuanced approach to enhancing retention of groups that are more likely to experience organizational biases based on their social identities. More specifically, this dissertation focuses on the retention of female employees, racial and ethnic minorities, and employees identifying as people with disabilities, through organizational inclusion.