Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore what corporations in Brazil, whether with Brazilian headquarters or not, are doing in regards to communicating their diversity practices and initiatives to the public. Understanding these companies' positions on diversity can paint a better picture of how much Brazil has advanced on diversity in the workplace matters, since the topic started coming about in discussions in the 1990s (Fleury, 2000). A sample of 15 companies was selected from Exame magazine "Melhores e Maiores Ranking 2014" (2015), and a content analysis of each company's website was performed during the summer of 2016, based on three diversity assessment models that were suggested by Mazzei and Ravazzani (2008): assimilating minorities, managing diversity, and leveraging differences. One of the corporations that was part of the sample, JBS, could not have its content analyzed because, even though there was a website listed, there was no content displayed about the company. A rubric was developed to code the data and assign a certain score to each corporation. Those companies were then placed under each of the three diversity assessment models based on how many points each of them scored on the rubric. The study found out that all companies headquartered in Brazil with an international presence fell under the third diversity assessment model, leveraging differences, which is the most proactive and diversity-oriented of the three. In addition, some international corporations that are present in Brazil mostly fell under the diversity management approach, but did not show the amount of diversity information initially expected before the study was conducted. Brazilian corporations with a domestic presence were scattered around the three models, with one company under assimilating minorities, three under diversity management, and one under leveraging differences. Despite the researcher's initial expectations, the results show that Brazilian companies with an international presence seem to be in tune with international diversity standards, and international companies with a presence in Brazil seem to be lacking some diversity related information, at least on their Brazilian websites. There are also suggestions for further research on the topic, this time based on diversity strategy guidelines suggested by Conklin (2006) and by the Instituto Ethos (2000).

Degree

College and Department

Fine Arts and Communications; Communications

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