Gone Fishing: I–O Psychologists' Missed Opportunities to Understand Marginalized Employees' Experiences With Discrimination

Abstract

This article focuses attention on research examining workplace discrimination against employees from marginalized groups. We particularly consider the experiences of seven different groups of marginalized individuals, some of which have legal protection and some of which do not but all of whom we feel have been overlooked by the field of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. We briefly describe the importance of studying each group and then delineate the brief amount of research that has been conducted. Finally, we make recommendations for I-O psychologists in terms of research and advocacy. Overall, we argue that I-O psychologists are missing an opportunity to be at the forefront of understanding and instigating changes that would result in maximizing the fairness and optimization of these often forgotten employees and their experiences in the workplace. One of the main goals of industrialorganizational (I-O) psychology is to ensure an equitable and fair workplace for all. Indeed, a large percentage of I-O psychologists devote their research programs and are hired to safeguard for fair selection Journal of Management, JOBU = Journal of Business and Psychology.

Workplace Discrimination Climate and Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Collective Value Congruence, Team Cohesion, and Collective Affective Commitment

“…As mentioned previously, this study intends to synthesize research on workplace aggression and workplace discrimination. With the lack of research on marginalized group members' experience of workplace discrimination, it not only limits the understanding and consequences of discrimination at work (Ruggs et al, 2013), but it restricts the types of empirical questions to be considered. Presented in greater detail below, discrimination is conceptualized as aggression motivated by negative prejudice towards marginalized group members.…”

“…As mentioned earlier, the primary focus of the extant literature has been on White-Black race relations and sexual harassment, with little attention given to other marginalized groups (Ruggs et al, 2013). Notably, when defining workplace discrimination, both reviews (Dipboye & Colella, 2005;Goldman et al, 2006) argue that I/O psychology draws heavily from social psychology theories of intergroup relations.…”

“…With such an increase in diverse workforces and organizations, additional research on workplace discrimination warrants serious consideration (e.g., Avery, McKay, & Wilson, 2008;Murray & Syed, 2005;Tung, 2008). Indeed, in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's (SIOP) premier journal (Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspective on Science and Practice), a recent focal article has made a call to the field to pay closer attention to marginalized groups' experience with discrimination in the workplace (Ruggs et al, 2013). …”

“…Ruggs and colleagues (Ruggs et al, 2013) argue that studies conducted on discrimination are limited mostly to those against Blacks and women (i.e., sexual harassment), however, the authors list seven additional groups that deserve further research consideration, including ethnically-and racially-diverse employees in addition to Blacks; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; older workers; individuals with disabilities; those who are overweight; religious minorities; and those who face marital status discrimination. They state that industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists have "… missed the opportunity to be at the forefront of research examining a broad range of marginalized employees' experiences in the workplace" top I/O psychology journals have published double the amount of articles on workplace discrimination against marginalized groups than social psychology journals (i.e., 26 articles).…”

“…If one of the main goals of I/O psychology is to ensure an equitable and fair workplace for all (cf. Ruggs et al, 2013), then action must be taken now. The field needs to take a proactive approach to identifying workplace discrimination and understanding its effects.…”