Can Birds of Different Feathers Flock Together? The Roles of Tolerance and Internal Communication in Employee Engagement in a Diverse, Global Context

Answering calls to advance international DEI scholarship in public relations by including diverse participants and perspectives, this study employed the global public relations framework (GPRF) to explore conceptualizations of DEI and its intersections with internal communication and employee engagement in a global context of practice. We chose the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the site of study as it is a natural experiment in workplace diversity, comprising expatriates from over 200 nationalities. Findings, based on 12 in-depth, elite interviews with senior public relations and communication leaders in the UAE revealed (1) diverse conceptualizations of DEI, including DEI as the DNA of the organization, and DEI as respect, tolerance, and inclusion; (2) internal diversity communication strategies to foster an inclusive climate such as linguistic inclusion, open and transparent dialogue, internal communication campaigns on authenticity, and boundary spanning advocacy; and (3) perceptions of impact not only on employee engagement, but also on employee reactance and disengagement. Grounded in the GPRF, the study demonstrates how public relations leaders’ conceptualization of DEI and practice of internal DEI communication is highly contextual, shaped by political, economic, societal, and activist cultures, requiring careful navigation of tensions between the local and the global.