While there is growing interest in professional identity construction (e.g. Clarke et al., 2009), little is known about how stigma may influence the development of professional identity. Professional identity is defined as one’s professional self-concept based on attributes, beliefs, values, motives, and experiences (Ibarra, 1999; Schein, 1978). Professional identity construction under conditions of stigmatized cultural identity presents an interesting puzzle. Professional roles are defined as prestigious and provide the role holder with autonomy (Benveniste, 1987) and, often, a degree of privilege. However, stigmatized persons are often accorded little prestige and/or privilege because their identities are tainted. Thus, the purpose of our research is to build and enrich theory around professional identity construction by investigating the development of professional identity under conditions of stigmatized cultural identity. To accomplish this goal, we study narratives written by 20 prominent African American journalists (Terry, 2007) who discuss what it means to be both Black and reporters.

This theoretical piece advances humility's role in socialized charismatic leadership by considering humility's impact on the behaviors and effectiveness of this type of leadership. First, the authors propose humility as an important but overlooked antecedent to effective socialized charismatic leadership. As described primarily in extant personality and social psychology literatures, humility prevents excessive self-focus and allows for an understanding of oneself, in addition to perspective of one's relationship with others. Second, the effects of humility on the display and effectiveness of three key socialized charismatic leader behaviors are considered. Theoretical contributions and future research directions are discussed.

Drawing on the recruitment, marketing, and explanation literatures, we examine how the language used to describe diversity practices in employee recruitment advertisements influences the organizational attractiveness perceptions of white, black, and Asian prospective applicants. Results show that prospective applicants' reactions to advertised support for identity‐conscious diversity practices were moderated by applicants' race, applicants' previous discrimination experiences, and the type of explanation a firm used to support its use of diversity practices. The results of this article provide new insights into how firms can effectively attract a diverse applicant pool. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The literature that explores African-American leadership has largely examined the institutional and societal factors that threaten the likelihood that African-Americans will emerge or be successful as leaders. However, in recent years, the emergence of African-Americans in key executive positions within the Fortune 500 suggests that select individuals are managing to overcome external threats to success. I argue that the social identity literature provides fresh theoretical perspectives for understanding the determinants of behavior that enable minorities to navigate institutional barriers to advancement. This literature enables the examination of leadership as a function of ingrouplout-group membership. This paper focuses on choice in identification as an antecedent of leadership attributions, and possibly, success. This is an important perspective because it enables the analysis of African Americans as members of multiple constituents groups, specifically, various work groups and political coalitions (which all nascent leaders must negotiate) and the African-American ethnicity (into which they are born and may feel some degree of duty). The role of social context is also explored.

No abstract