Does supporting cultural diversity benefit only Māori? A study of Māori and Pākehā employees

Abstract

Māori are the Indigenous people of Aotearoa but experience workplace disadvantages including high discrimination, lower pay, and greater unemployment. This study uses psychological contracts theory to explore employee perceptions of a set of mutual obligations and implicit promises from their employer around supporting Māori employees. Cultural diversity promise fulfilment (CDPF) focuses on the way firms provide Māori cultural representation, seeks broad inputs from Māori, and work to eliminate bias against Māori. We empirically test CDPF on 165 Māori and 729 Pākehā. We include Pākehā because theoretically, under social exchange theory, all employees might react positively to employer support for a disadvantaged group. We test a moderated mediation model and find support with CDPF being significantly related to job satisfaction, cultural wellbeing, and turnover intentions, with the former mediating CDPF effects to turnover. Next, moderation effects are found (Māori versus Pākehā) but with mixed support. However, moderated mediation effects are supported with Māori employees reporting a stronger indirect effect from CDPF than Pākehā, through both mediators (job satisfaction and cultural wellbeing). The paper establishes the importance of CDPF and helps build the arguments for diversity support.