DEI climate measurement and its impact on employee well-being, attitudinal and behavioural outcomes: A review of DEI climate tools

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the investment of organizations in initiatives promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This increase has been propelled by a combination of ethical imperatives, legal pressures, and the recognition of the "business case" for diversity. However, despite the proliferation of policies, academic research remains fragmented. A critical gap exists between the implementation of DEI initiatives (the company's actions) and the resulting DEI climate (employees' collective perception of these initiatives). A review of the extant literature reveals a persistent tendency towards conceptual vagueness. While "diversity" and "equity" are often discussed in the context of statistical representation and procedural fairness, the concept of "inclusion" remains under-researched. The extant empirical findings on performance outcomes are inconsistent, in part because existing measures are inadequate in capturing the multifaceted nature of DEI interventions. To address these limitations, this paper introduces a holistic framework grounded in reconceptualization, linking DEI climate with employee well-being, attitudinal, and behavioral outcomes. It organizes these outcomes into a structured model comprising well-being, attitudinal, and behavioral dimensions, while also distinguishing between well-established and underexplored areas within the literature