Diversity washing: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

Purpose This paper aims to provide, based on a systematic review of the literature, a future research agenda for the emerging field of diversity washing in organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports a systematic literature review that identified 15 relevant papers based on a broad literature search across different sources and research types that tackled diversity washing. Findings The authors summarize the findings of the systematic literature review by providing tentative answers to what motivates organizations to adopt diversity washing, their strategies to do so, how stakeholders perceive diversity washing, and the key strategies to prevent or revoke such deceptive practices in organizations. Based on these findings, the authors developed a future research agenda that guides scholars in their research efforts in this field. Research limitations/implications The authors present a future research agenda and put forward three theoretical propositions that predict the likelihood of engaging in diversity washing in organizations. Social implications The results have broad social implications, as diversity-washing practices can cover discriminatory practices in organizations with negative social consequences and implications. Originality/value This paper is the first systematic attempt to integrate the literature on diversity washing to date and opens several directions for future research.