The Case for Diversity in Marketing
The “case for diversity” is well-established (Emslie et al., 2007; Jamal, 2003; Muléy, 2009). On the macro-level, diversity results in a harmonious society where all diverse groups interact, with a focus on commonalities, and fulfill their potentials in a fair and equitable manner. Both communications literature and mainstream media, however, clearly alienate certain ethnic groups and address the global white population more concisely (Emslie et al., 2007). In marketing terms, Wilkie (1997) looked at this marginalization in the context of public policy issues in marketing as a threatening departure from mainstream thought (cf. El-Bassiouny, 2014). Klein and Hill (2008) noted that marginalization is represented in what is termed “restricted consumer behavior” and an obstructed consumer decision process (cf. Burton, 2005).
In marketing scholarship, this has also broadly reflected in many publications including the need for multicultural marketing courses (Burton, 2005; 2002), the need for Transformative Consumer Research (Mick, 2007), the need for incorporating public policy issues in mainstream marketing literature and the subsequent acceptance in top-tier academic journals (Wilkie and Moore, 2003), among many others.