Do vulnerable social identities of faculty matter when predicting their inclusive practices at university?

Some qualitative studies have shown that faculty and chief diversity officers belonging to minority groups are firmly committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in their universities. This suggests that identification with minority groups could be linked to the inclusive attitudes and practices of higher education professionals, an expectation that is consistent with the predictions of the Social Identity Theory proposed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner. Within the framework of this theoretical model, the quantitative study presented here was designed to test whether the vulnerable social identities of university teachers predict their diversity practices, if they do so through their beliefs and attitudes towards diversity, and whether certain sociodemographic variables act as moderators (gender and job tenure). With a survey-based design, we collected data from 972 faculty members from eight Spanish public universities, which we analysed using linear regression, structural equation analysis and moderation analysis. The results showed that lecturers’ affiliation to vulnerable groups significantly but weakly predicted their attitudes towards diversity and inclusive practices. The effect on practices was partially mediated by attitudes. In addition, the direct effect of social identity on inclusive research and teaching innovation was moderated by gender – it was only significant in women. In the discussion section, we interpret the weakness of the effect of social identity in terms of the possible limited commitment to minority group identities of university faculty, concurrent with fundamentally non-threatening contextual norms. As an application of the results, we propose the development of more solid and transformative diversity policies, clear and operational rules, convergent and coordinated management mechanisms, and training aimed at strengthening and integrating social and professional identities.