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Cited by 132Gender Diversity and InequalityPublic Policy and Administration ResearchGlobal and Cross-Cultural Management

Rethinking Diversity in Public Organizations for the 21st Century: Moving toward a Multicultural Model

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Selden, Sally Coleman, Selden, Frank·2001·Administration & Society
DOI 10.1177/00953990122019785
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Abstract

The 21st century promises a more diverse public workplace in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, age, and disabilities. In light of the shifting composition of public organizations, this article applies three different paradigms of diversity developed to understand private organizations and analyze practices in and research about public organizations. Building on these paradigms, this article proposes a new process for managing diversity that facilitates the development and promulgation of a multicultural organization. This paradigm of multiculturalism cultivates a climate in which individuals from dominant and nondominant cultures coexist and thrive. Consequently, agencies will be more effective in recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, structuring internal processes, and serving clients.

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  64. Sally Coleman Selden is an associate professor of management at Lynchburg Col- lege. Dr. Selden's fields of interest encompass management and human resource management. She is the author of The Promise of Representative Bureaucracy: Diversity and Responsiveness in a Government Agency (M. E. Sharp). Her articles have appeared in Administration & Society, American Journal of Political Science, American Review of Public Administration, Review of Public Personnel Adminis- tration, Journal of Public Administration Education, Public Administration Review, and Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.

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Authors
Selden, S. C., & Selden, F.
Affiliations
  • University of Lynchburg (US)
  • Centra Health (US)
Venue
Administration & Society
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2001-07
Volume
33
Issue
3
Pages
303-329
ISSN
  • 0095-3997 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-3039
DOI
10.1177/00953990122019785
OpenAlex
W2048593958
Cited by
132
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 4
FWCI
2.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Administration & Society (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Diversity and Inequality
  • Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Global and Cross-Cultural Management
Keywords
workplace diversity, public sector organizations, multiculturalism, diversity management, race and ethnicity, gender, age, disability, recruitment and retention, organizational climate

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