Abstract
The lack of perceived inclusive leadership in the workplace may precede employees’ perceptions of discrimination. Identity is confirmed as a mediator in the relationship between inclusive leadership and discrimination with personal and work identities specifically, proposed to mediate the relationship between inclusive leadership and discrimination. However, there is a gap in the literature confirming the roles and function of personal and work identities in the relationship, which this study aimed to investigate. Adhering to a quantitative approach, a non experimental, cross-sectional research design was employed to conduct the study. Using non probability sampling techniques, a questionnaire comprising a biographical questionnaire, Inclusive Leadership Scale, Chronic Work Discrimination and Harassment Scale, Erikson Psycho Social Inventory, and Tilburg Work Identity Scale for Commitment and Reconsideration of Commitment was distributed to respondents (N = 452) in South African organisations. The results from the path analysis confirmed a statistically significant mediating effect of work identity on the relationship between inclusive leadership and discrimination with the implication that in South Africa, inclusive leadership cultivates work identity, which alleviates perceptions of discrimination. The findings of this research contribute to the limited body of research in the scope of inclusive leadership and personal and work identities; personal and work identities and discrimination; and personal and work identities as mediators of the relationship between inclusive leadership and discrimination. The practical implications relate to recommended implementation of inclusive leadership in South African organisations to reduce perceptions of discrimination, and the cultivation of individuals’ work identities in South African organisations.
M.Com. (Industrial Psychology)