DIVERSIDADE CULTURAL: PANORAMA ATUAL E REFLEXÕES PARA A REALIDADE BRASILEIRA

Abstract

Academic literature on cultural diversity is not easily found in Brazil. In an attempt to increase knowledge on the issue in the Brazilian context, this article proposes to discuss the concept of diversity and cultural diversity management found in foreign literature, as well as to analyze the use of such concepts in the Brazilian scene. Data collection was made basically through bibliographical research. With an aim to identify cultural diversity initiatives developed by organizations, international scientific journals published in the period 1998-2003 were consulted. The analysis performed reflects mostly the North-American context, where the Affirmative Actions and the Equal Job Opportunity have effectively contributed to include minority cultural groups inside organizations. Research findings indicate that complexity, ambiguities and contradictions related to the cultural diversity topic and its multidimensional side demand a contextualized appropriation of the theme, taking into consideration the Brazilian culture roots so as to understand the notion of “diverse” in the light of our reality. Starting from this knowledge, it is thought to be possible to look at cultural diversity as in important factor to competitiveness in Brazilian companies.