Special Issue on Diversity management in the Middle East

Citation

Burke, R.J., Syed, J. and Pinar Acar, F. (2009), "Special Issue on Diversity management in the Middle East", Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/eoi.2009.03028aaa.002

Special Issue on Diversity management in the Middle East

Article Type: Call for papers From: Equal Opportunities International, Volume 28, Issue 1

Guest EditorsRonald J. Burke, Jawad Syed and F. Pinar AcarEqual Opportunities International is pleased to announce a special issue focused on diversity management in the Middle East. The special issue will examine different types of national and corporate institutions, strategies, theoretical ideas, and activities involved in diversity and equality practices in the Middle East. The special issue aims to offer a range of national, ideological and practical perspectives on diversity and equal opportunity; what diversity management means both for those who perform equality and diversity work as professionals and as activists, and for those who experience its effects in countries as diverse as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Qatar, UAE, and other countries which are considered to be a part of the greater Middle East. The Middle East lies at the juncture of Eurasia and Africa and of the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is the birthplace and spiritual centre of three main Abrahamic religions, i.e. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The economic structure of Middle Eastern countries is also diverse in the sense that, while some countries are heavily dependent on export of oil and oil-related products (e.g. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran), others have a highly diverse economic and industrial base (e.g. Egypt and Israel).The special issue poses questions about what is distinctive about current discourses and practices of equality and diversity in the Middle East, how different or similar they are with regard to the Western discourses of diversity management, and their possible implications for governments, organizations and individuals.Papers are invited from academics and practitioners who work in the area of equality and diversity, including but not limited to the areas of religion, age, disability, ethnicity ("race"), gender, sexuality and from a range of national contexts. We invite papers that deal with these issues either in a single country or in a comparative perspective. Papers could include reflections on:

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  State institutions of diversity and equality: governance, local authorities, equality commissions, third sector/ not-for-profit organizations, funding regimes including potential country-specific differences in affirmative action, statutes, and laws.

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  Activism and the politics of diversity and equality: insiders, outsiders, social movements, communities, activist organizations, boundary work.

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  The bureaucratization and technologies of diversity and equality: audits, equality measures, monitoring, policy documents, corporate plans, targets, equality standards, diversity training, and other organizational initiatives.

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  Diversity and equality formations: regional and national anti-racism, corporate diversity, femocracies, office reform movements, and state equality practices.

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  The professionalization of diversity and equality: credentialization, equality consultancy, the expertise of equality practice, equality professionals and competences.

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  Discriminatory practices and policies of unequal employment prevalent in countries of the region, their influence on the stigmatized, and coping mechanisms.

The editors invite contributions to the above or to further issues that can be usefully raised in examining diversity management in the Middle East. We are particularly interested in papers, either conceptual or empirical, that offer fresh contributions to the existing "mainstream'' literature and its underlying assumptions of diversity management. We also seek papers that break new ground and outline new directions for interdisciplinary conversation and diversity research.

This call is open and competitive, and the submitted papers will be blind reviewed in the normal way. Submission will be taken to imply that a paper contains original work that has not previously been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors should follow the journal's regular guidelines, as published in every issue of the journal. Papers should be no longer than 7,000 words.

1 October 2008 Call for papers issued1 March 2009 Submission of papers1 July 2009 Editorial decision2010 Expected publication of the special issue

Prospective contributors can also liaise with the Guest Editors before the submission date to discuss the suitability of their work for this publication. All submissions for the special issue will be subject to full peer review.

For further information about the journal, and link to author guidelines and submission, please visit the EOI web pages via: http://info.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=eoi

Please note that the submissions should be made through Manuscript Central. Papers to be considered for this special issue should be submitted online via: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/eoi (selecting "Special Issue Paper?" (Diversity Management in Asia) as the Manuscript Type).

Guest EditorsRonald J. BurkeSchulich School of BusinessYork University, TorontoCanada Tel: +1 416 7362100, ext. 77921E-mail: rburke@schulich.yorku.ca

Jawad SyedKent Business SchoolUniversity of Kent, Canterbury, UKTel: +44 1227 824114E-mail: j.syed@kent.ac.uk

F. Pinar AcarDepartment of Business Administration,Middle East Technical University,Inonu Bulvari, Ankara, TurkeyTel: +90 312 2102052E-mail: pacar@metu.edu.tr