With the rise of globalization, evolving labor-market demographics, and rapid organizational changes, the need for diversity-oriented leadership (DOL) has grown to better recognize individuals from diverse backgrounds and address associated organizational challenges. This research examines how DOL influences employees’ advocative behaviors in selected companies, framed through the lens of social exchange theory. Additionally, it explores the mediating roles of symmetrical internal communication (SIC) and work engagement (WE), along with the effects of covariates such as age, gender, educational qualifications, and the specific company, on the link between DOL and employee advocacy. Adopting a Post-Positivist approach, the study investigates causal relationships among the chosen constructs. A total of 413 employees from selected Fortune Indian companies were surveyed using proportionate random sampling. Data were collected via a self-developed instrument incorporating multiple scales adapted from the ‘Inclusion and Belonging Assessment Scale’, with responses ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The Hayes Process Macro (Model 4.0) in SPSS 20.0 was employed to analyze the impact of DOL on employee advocacy, accounting for the mediating influences of SIC and WE as well as covariates including age, gender, education, and company. Findings reveal that SIC and WE partially and complementarily mediate the relationship between DOL and employee advocacy, while the company significantly affects both advocacy and engagement but shows no notable influence on SIC.
