Relationship between leadership styles and diversity management in Brazilian companies recognized for their best organizational practices

Purpose This study aims to analyze the relationship between leadership styles and diversity management from the perspective of employees in Brazilian companies recognized for their best organizational practices. Design/methodology/approach The approach was quantitative, with a descriptive objective. Data were collected from 148 employees working in companies certified by GPTW - Great Place to Work in the state of Santa Catarina/Brazil, through a survey using a questionnaire composed of seven-point Likert-type scale questions. The analysis was performed using confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson's r test. Findings Of the three research hypotheses tested, the hypotheses that diversity management has a positive relationship with transformational leadership and a negative relationship with laissez-faire leadership were confirmed, and the hypothesis of a negative relationship with transactional leadership was refuted. Originality/value This study stands out for analyzing the relationship between leadership styles and diversity management in Brazilian companies certified by GPTW, providing quantitative evidence on the influence of different styles in promoting diversity. The discovery of a positive correlation between transactional leadership and diversity management offers an unprecedented contribution, broadening the understanding of leadership's impacts in the organizational context.