Integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Management Education: An Empathy Framework

Licsandru, Tana Cristina and Mari, Carlo and Kipnis, Eva and Galalae, Cristina and Johnson, Emma and Cross, Samantha N. N. and Cui, Charles Chi and Kearney, Shauna and Martín Ruiz, Verónica and Vorster Larsen, Lizette and Yoruk, Irem (2025) Integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Management Education: An Empathy Framework. British Journal of Management. ISSN 1045-3172

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Abstract

Are future managers well equipped to drive the transformation towards more inclusive and just societies? This paper presents the perspectives of business school students on integrating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles into management education. We engage students as participants, co‐researchers and consultants in a student voice‐informed, multi‐method qualitative study taking place in the United Kingdom (East and West Midlands, South East and West and North regions) and in the United States (Midwest region), focusing on marketing as a case discipline. Findings illuminate student critiques of the prevalent normative coverage of DEI, to the detriment of applied knowledge and action‐oriented learning. We draw on the concept of empathy as a foundational lens for understanding and conceptualizing student expectations and develop a theoretical framework for holistically integrating DEI into management education. Our framework offers a theoretical understanding of shortcomings in current DEI learning in business schools and advances empathy as integral to both DEI and responsible management education. It proposes a novel direction for pedagogical innovations addressing social justice broadly and DEI specifically and showcases the value of student‐voice‐informed methodologies in education research for curriculum change.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1111/1467-8551.70008
Dates:	Date Event 14 July 2025 Accepted 5 August 2025 Published Online
Subjects:	CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-02 - business studies
Divisions:	Business School > Management, Business and Marketing
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2025 13:13
Last Modified:	03 Nov 2025 13:13
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16706

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