As organizations invest heavily in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, understanding how different approaches to DEI affect employee voice becomes increasingly critical. We examine how two contrasting DEI strategies—identity awareness versus identity harmonization—influence employees’ willingness to speak up about DEI-related matters. Drawing on social identity theory and uncertainty management theory, we propose that these strategies affect voice behavior through their impact on organizational commitment, with political orientation serving as a key boundary condition. In a between-subjects experiment with 274 participants, we find that an identity harmonization strategy, which emphasizes shared organizational identity while acknowledging group differences, fosters stronger organizational commitment compared to an identity awareness strategy, which primarily emphasizes historical inequities and systemic barriers. This effect is particularly pronounced for politically conservative employees. Organizational commitment, in turn, predicts both promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors specific to DEI issues. These findings advance our understanding of context-specific voice behavior and offer practical insights for organizations seeking to implement DEI initiatives that encourage constructive dialogue across ideological divides.
