ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter presents the UK and European employment context for understanding the dynamics of managing diversity in the twenty-first century. It outlines the social and economic factors that shape the labour market position and employment experiences of women, black and minority ethnic people, disabled people, lesbians and gay men, and older people. This sketch of macro-level labour market trends and patterns demonstrates the existence of inequalities of outcome between and within these social groups. The chapter is a presentation of data with some commentary, although detailed analysis and theoretical explanations are reserved for subsequent chapters.
