A major tenet of contemporary capitalism holds that what is good for business can align with what is good for society. Efforts towards more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces epitomize this ideology, termed responsible capitalism. A common managerial mantra is “diversity means business.” But how does it play out in the daily life of organizations?
Drawing on interviews with diversity managers, a historical review of practitioner literature, and observations from organizations in New York City and Paris, Managing Corporate Virtue goes beyond the rhetoric of diversity initiatives to uncover the concrete challenges faced by those tasked with implementing them.
The book reveals the persistent fragility of diversity efforts, which are often sidelined; subject to the variations of the legal, social, and political environment; and require constant efforts to sustain managerial support. Practitioners must prove their programs are neither merely virtue signaling nor the Trojan horse of political, legal, or moral pressures that would unsettle the corporate order.
Ultimately, by exploring the day-to-day work of diversity managers in the United States and France, the book exposes the contradictions lurking beneath the neoliberal promise of harmony between profit and virtue.
🏆Winner of the 2026 EGOS Book Award
Introduction: Managing Corporate Virtue
1. What Diversity Owes to Equality Policies
2. Diversity Means Business
3. Promoting Diversity, Between Management and Regulation
4. Beyond or Alongside the Law?
5. The Valuable Identity of Diversity Managers
6. Serving or Changing the Company?
Conclusion: A Window Onto the Contradictions of Responsible Capitalism
“In her new book, Laure Bereni dives deep into the worlds of diversity managers in New York and Paris, coming up with stunning insights about how dramatically different their jobs and initiatives are. In the U.S., the mandate is to fight racial discrimination; in France it is to redistribute resources to the disadvantaged. In the U.S., women of color do the work – in France it is white men. In both countries, managers walk a fine line between mere virtue signaling and evoking backlash. Managing Corporate Virtue is not only a virtuoso piece of social science, it shows possibilities for a different future at a time when diversity management is under attack.” — Frank Dobbin, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University
“This timely book paints a rich and fascinating history of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the United States and France. Building on an impressive set of archives and interviews with diversity managers, Bereni shows how in both contexts firms took on these ‘virtuous’ goals. But she also explains how firms embraced distinct approaches in each country. Whereas US firms made sure to separate their diversity efforts from their legal obligations, French firms adopted a more blended model (mixing legal, business, and civic goals into one function). This comparative analysis sheds much-needed light on the limits of corporate incursions into moral realms and the contrasted future of DEI efforts across geographies.”– Michel Anteby, Author of Manufacturing Morals: The Values of Silence in Business Education
“How do diversity practitioners legitimize their activity in institutional contexts where it can be stigmatized as peripheral or overly politicized? Why was the deracialization of DEI workplace initiatives more pronounced in France than in the United States ? How does the managerialization of antidiscrimination law operate in both countries ? To these questions – and many others – sociologist Laure Bereni’s groundbreaking study offers compelling answers. Anyone interested in race in France vs in the United States or in the comparative analysis of affirmative action policies should read this outstanding book.” — Daniel Sabbagh, Author of Equality and Transparency: A Strategic Perspective on Affirmative Action in American Law
“Managing Corporate Virtue is a meticulously researched, in-depth exploration of corporate diversity management in France and the US, one that puts this industry in its broader historical and legal context yet also gives us insiders’ rich contemporary perspectives. Crucially, it shows how fragile the field is, due both to its uneasy location on the margins of business enterprises and, as is now all too clear, at the mercy of political climate.” — Ann Morning, co-author of An Ugly Word: Rethinking Race in Italy and the United States
“In Managing Corporate Virtue, Laure Bereni masterfully demonstrates the development and character of diversity policies in the U.S. and France, with each country’s policies stemming from distinctive political-legal paradigms. Her comparative lens makes the book important reading for both countries’ scholars and policymakers because it highlights the political-economic and social costs and benefits of an American anti-discrimination approach with race at the forefront, vs. a French redistributive approach centering on disability and gender.” — Robin Stryker, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Purdue University
“By closely studying these “boundary” workers from two countries who attempt to bridge business and societal values, the author reveals national variations in how workplace diversity is conceptualized and practiced, exposing “the fragilities, ambivalences, and contradictions of [supposed] ‘responsible capitalism'” in its purported efforts to contribute to the public good. In sum, this is an excellent resource for those committed-or opposed-to the DEI industrial complex.” — J. R. Mitrano, CHOICE
Reviews
June 2026, by Bonnie Siegler, Social Forces