Diversity management and organizational change

Purpose – Set against a background of numerous institutionally funded programmes with a focus on gender mainstreaming, the purpose of this paper is to draw on institutional theory as an alternative lens to explain why such programmes often fail to achieve the desired outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a case of a European Social Fund EQUAL Programme aimed at enhancing employment opportunities for women in Information Technology, Electronics and Communication and related sectors. The paper focuses on the partnership working aspect, which is a fundamental mobilizing structure of European Commission programmes. Insights into the experiences of partnership working were gathered from interviews with 18, out of the 24 participating partners, on this specific programme. Findings – Tensions with partnership working are exposed and discussed: frustration with intra-organizational collaborative working and structures and outputs that promote a mimetic approach to change, legitimized throu...