The History of Diversity in Italy from 1995 to 2024: The Rise of Diversity Management in the Age of Flexibility and Precarity

By the late 1990s, diversity management had begun to take shape, transitioning companies from exploiting or passively enduring diversity to actively managing it. Companies recognised the need for diverse talent in an uncertain global environment. Key players—research organisations, consultancy firms, corporations and public institutions—emerged, driving the development of diversity management through regulatory and mimetic forces. A process of legitimisation unfolded both culturally and socio-politically, although this process is still ongoing, as indicated by the current data on its adoption.