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 *
