Browsing by Author "Back, Hilla"

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion in a multinational technology company: Developing a DEI strategy
(2024) Eronen, Siiri
School of Business | Master's thesis
More and more organizations are investing in understanding and considering diversity, equity and inclusion in their working environments and organizational practices. The entity of diversity, equity and inclusion is called DEI. Although DEI is generally seen as an important and necessary theme in organizations, many organizations still lack a concrete DEI strategy (Olusanya, 2023). Academic research on DEI strategy development is also still scarce, for example in the field of DEI strategy research in technology sector. The purpose of this study is to delve into the DEI state and leading DEI in a multinational technology company. It also provides a framework for how to create a DEI strategy in this context. To address these topics, the study draws on the DEI related findings of an employee survey in the case company, other company materials and eight manager interviews. Thus, the study is constructed from both quantitative and qualitative data, fulfilling the criteria of a mixed-method study (Hurmerinta-Peltomäki & Nummela, 2006). The findings of the study show that DEI is highly context-specific topic. Each organization has its own unique DEI topics and problems. For example, technology sector typically highlights gender distribution as a DEI topic (Glass et al., 2013). However, this study shows that beyond this, important DEI topics to the case company include the inclusion of blue collars and employees with long tenure. The multinational study context, on the other hand, highlights the importance of consistent DEI processes and, for example, ensuring accessibility across all company sites, according to the managerial interviews. The study finds that the field of leading DEI is broad, which makes it challenging to identify specific tools of leading DEI. However, it shows that leading DEI can include, for example, developing an environment in which each employee feels that their voice is heard and that their opinions are valued. Finally, the study shows that the creation of a DEI strategy typically starts with a DEI state assessment. Then, the desired state of DEI is outlined, meaning identifying the organizational DEI vision. Then, context-specific strategic DEI objectives are systematically selected. Finally, the effectiveness and evolution of the strategy is monitored and continuously updated.
Language-based discrimination in multilingual organizations: A comparative study of migrant professionals’ experiences across physical and virtual spaces
(2024-04) Back, Hilla; Piekkari, Rebecca
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
We compare migrant professionals’ experiences of language-based discrimination across physical and virtual spaces. The minority status of these professionals stems from their foreign origin and lack of proficiency in the local language of their new country of residence. We conducted a case study of a multinational corporation after a shift to remote work triggered by COVID-19. Our findings indicate that while language-based discrimination takes more interpersonal and overt forms in physical spaces, it becomes more organizational and subtle in virtual spaces. We shed light on how technology dependency and dispersion affect the forms and experiences of language-based discrimination in different spaces. Our contribution lies in defining language-based discrimination as a construct of modern discrimination, which has received scant attention in previous research.
Skilled yet minoritized: An equality, diversity, and inclusion perspective on skilled migrants in multilingual organizations
(2024) Back, Hilla
School of Business | Doctoral dissertation (article-based)
This dissertation advances language-sensitive international business (IB) research through an equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) perspective, and adds insight into language as a dimension of diversity. To date, these fields have remained largely disconnected. Through single case studies of two multilingual organizations in Finland, I shed light on the discrimination, marginalization, and differential status of a specific minority group: linguistic minorities not proficient in the local language of their host country. In this dissertation, these linguistic minorities are international students in higher education and migrant professionals in a professional service firm. These individuals are skilled migrants who are a scarce and valued asset as countries worldwide combat talent deficits, decreasing birth rates, and aging populations. This dissertation is comprised of three empirical papers of the two multilingual organizations. The data sources include primary data such as interviews and surveys, and secondary data in the form of internal EDI documents and statistics, as well as national media coverage. The findings showcase how language acts as a form of discrimination, necessitates coping strategies from those not proficient in the language, fuels inclusion-related tensions, and thus influences EDI-implications in multilingual organizations. This dissertation provides theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions. Theoretically, by utilizing a paradox perspective, it advances knowledge on the key role of language in fueling and surfacing inclusion-related tensions, leading to outcomes that impede the inclusion of linguistic minorities. It also conceptualizes language-based discrimination in multilingual organizations, and links coping strategies of linguistic minorities to inclusion implications. Empirically, it contributes by documenting and analyzing experiences of discrimination, marginalization, and differential status of minority language groups across face-to-face and virtual spaces in a non-Anglophone context. Lastly, this dissertation offers a methodological innovation by showing how composite narratives can be used in IB to depict different perspectives. In summary, in this dissertation I advance extant knowledge in both language-sensitive IB and EDI in IB research through a focus on the experiences of the minority group of skilled migrants in multilingual organizations. I also offer practical implications on how to achieve a polyphonic organization in which different linguistic resources are equally respected.
Virtual Work and the Inclusion of Linguistic Minorities: A Double-Edged Sword
(2024-01) Back, Hilla; Back, Philipp
A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa
Information technology has been shown to support organizations' diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. However, the role of language as a dimension of diversity has often been overlooked, especially for highly-skilled migrants joining organizations in non-Anglophone countries where English serves as the corporate language. Through 25 interviews at the Finnish branch of an international professional service firm, we investigate how these individuals navigate language barriers in both physical and virtual workspaces, with particular focus on coping strategies to language barriers after the COVID-induced transition to full virtual work. We find a dual effect of virtual work on inclusion: while linguistic minorities may reduce their short-term emotional strain in virtual settings, they may also increasingly detach from the majority group in the long run. These findings challenge the prevailing assumption that technology universally overcomes hidden barriers, emphasizing the necessity for tailored DEI-initiatives that consider the individual needs of different minority groups.