ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1 we set out our objectives for this book. The primary aim was to fill the gap identified within the field of equality and diversity and to help readers to ‘manage’ the study of the diversity of the employment context. One objective was to situate current and emerging equality and diversity debates and issues within the context of UK and European labour markets. This involved providing conceptual and theoretical underpinning and examining the social and economic contexts within which labour market activity takes place. Other objectives were to stimulate debate and critique of theory, policy and practice and to trace developments in equality and diversity policy approaches in order to identify possible future directions in the twenty-first century. In particular, our objective was to critically evaluate whether or not the shift to the diversity paradigm can be viewed as a positive development. This chapter attempts to summarize the key themes of the ten chapters in this book and to indicate how these objectives have been met.
