What is it about?

Organizations increasingly promote diversity and inclusion, yet employees may still feel valued more for their roles, status, or performance than for who they are as human beings. Existing approaches explain how people develop a sense of belonging, but they offer a less complete explanation of how individuals can belong to a group without sacrificing their differences. This article introduces Shared Human Identity (SHI) Theory, which proposes that genuine and sustainable inclusion begins with recognizing the fundamental humanity shared by all people. Its central idea is that differences in identity, culture, status, abilities, or organizational roles do not make anyone more or less human. The theory introduces Equivalent Human Perception as a key psychological mechanism through which people recognize one another as equally human despite their differences. When this understanding becomes widely shared, individuals can develop a Shared Human Identity while preserving their unique personal and social identities. SHI Theory offers a new explanation of how organizations can move beyond simply managing diversity toward creating workplaces where belonging and individuality coexist without pressure to conform.

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Why is it important?

Existing theories of social identity, leadership, and inclusion have significantly advanced our understanding of how people develop shared identities and a sense of belonging. However, an important question remains: What should unite people who differ in identity, culture, status, or organizational role without requiring them to give up what makes them unique? Shared Human Identity (SHI) Theory offers a new answer: our shared humanity. The theory’s distinctive contribution is not simply to emphasize that all people are human, but to explain how recognizing one another’s fundamental humanity as equivalent can become the psychological foundation of a shared identity. At the heart of this explanation is Equivalent Human Perception (EHP), a proposed psychological mechanism through which differences in identity, status, abilities, or organizational position are no longer interpreted as differences in human worth or standing. By connecting the recognition of equal humanity to the development of a Shared Human Identity, the theory offers a new explanation of how belonging and individuality can coexist without assimilation. Importantly, SHI Theory also recognizes that changing perceptions alone is insufficient when organizational structures undermine human dignity, agency, or voice. Sustainable inclusion requires both psychological recognition and supportive organizational conditions. This framework opens new directions for research on dehumanization, social identity, leadership, diversity, and human-centered organizational practices, with potential implications extending beyond workplaces to broader social relationships.

Perspectives

My research on dehumanization and social identity has led me to reflect on a fundamental question: Why do differences between people sometimes become grounds for perceiving some individuals as more or less human than others? We often define ourselves and others through social identities, cultural backgrounds, professional roles, and organizational positions. These differences are meaningful and deserve recognition. Yet none of them makes one person more or less human than another. This understanding lies at the heart of Shared Human Identity Theory. In developing this theory, I wanted to explore a question that I believe deserves greater attention: Can we build a shared sense of “we” based on our common humanity without asking people to abandon the identities that make them unique? My intention is not to minimize differences or suggest that recognizing our shared humanity can eliminate structural inequalities. Rather, I hope to contribute to a perspective in which differences remain meaningful without becoming grounds for hierarchies of humanity. I believe that genuine inclusion requires more than accepting diversity or encouraging people to belong to the same group. It requires recognizing that, before our roles, identities, and social positions, we share an equivalent fundamental humanity. My hope is that Shared Human Identity Theory will inspire further research and encourage us to rethink how we understand identity, humanization, and inclusion—not only in organizations but also in our broader relationships with one another.

Veysi Tanriverdi
Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University

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This page is a summary of: Shared human identity theory: a call to humanization, Personnel Review, October 2026, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/pr-12-2025-1397.
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