FACULTY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY | Seminar
Doctoral student introductory seminars: Jiyoung Han and Melissa Mae Cruz

Welcome to Doctoral student introductory seminars!

Translating DEI into Practice: How Swedish Firms Operationalize Social Sustainability under CSRD

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Jiyoung Han, PhD Student in International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Malmö University

Supervisors

• Sayaka Osanami Törngren, Associate Professor
• Pieter Bevelander, Professor
• Carolin Schütze, Associate senior lecturer

Abstract

This study examines how Swedish corporations translate social sustainability values, specifically diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), into measurable indicators under the regulatory pressures introduced by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), implemented in 2024.
Drawing on organisational institutionalism, the study investigates how firms respond to coercive regulatory demands by operationalizing DEI through policies, strategies, and quantifiable metrics, and why such responses vary across organisations.

Methodologically, the paper adopts a mixed-methods design. It combines a disclosure index analysis of sustainability reports from 100 Swedish firms (2024–2027) with a longitudinal content analysis of annual reports from 2016, 2021, and 2024 to trace the evolution of DEI disclosure practices. These document-based analyses are complemented by observations from HR expert roundtable meetings and semi-structured interviews with HR professionals, enabling an in-depth examination of how DEI metrics are interpreted and implemented in practice.

The findings will highlight how institutional pressures and internal capacities jointly shape social sustainability reporting, offering guidance for policy and management.

Mapping Belonging and Exclusion Among Descendants of Migrants

Profile

Melissa Mae Cruz, PhD Student in International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Malmö University

Supervisors

Pieter Bevelander, Professor, and Nahikari Irastorza, Associate Professor, Malmö University

Abstract

Parity in life chances between the second-generation and native-born children are often seen as a robust measure of integration success (Crul et al., 2017). Yet, despite having been born and raised in Sweden, many second-generation citizens continue to face barriers to full societal participation, including underrepresentation in higher education and leadership, discrimination in the labor market (Kim, 2024), and experiences of racialisation and cultural exclusion (Osanami-Törngren, 2024). So how can a country with some of the world's most inclusive welfare institutions, liberal citizenship policies, and highest global integration rankings still produce widespread exclusion among its second generation?

To understand this discrepancy, the paper will use Malmö University’s Diversity and Inclusion survey (N=5,644), the first-of-its-kind to map Sweden’s growing diversity by capturing identities traditionally excluded from the national census. Using this survey, I will employ an intersectional quantitative method called MAIHDA to investigate how combinations of identities shape belonging and exclusion in Sweden. This multilevel approach examines intersectional effects that traditional analyses cannot capture (Evans, 2015). While many studies apply intersectionality to understand inclusion/exclusion in integration outcomes (Scuzzarello & Moroşanu, 2023), MAIHDA has not been applied in this context. Through these efforts, I hope to add complexity to our understanding of the second-generation and offer evidence-based recommendations for improving integration and anti-discrimination policy.

Attendance

This is a hybrid seminar, you are welcome to connect via Zoom or join us at MIM seminar room, floor 9, Niagara, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1. To attend on campus, please gather by the reception area at 13.05.
If you have any questions, send an email mim@mau.se

Zoom

Will be available closer to the seminar date.

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