Support of workplace diversity policies: The role of race, gender, and beliefs about inequality

Abstract

Workplace diversity policies are more effective when they are supported by managers and workers, but there is little direct evidence on how people feel about these policies or why they hold certain opinions. In this study, we analyze data from a survey experiment designed to assess public opinion about a range of workplace diversity policies. We examine how support for these policies among employed respondents varies by race, gender, and by the targeted population (i.e. whether the policies aim to improve the workplace representation of women or racial minorities). Using OLS regression models to analyze a diverse sample of employed persons participating in the survey, we find that women, blacks, and Latina/os are more supportive of diversity policies than men and whites, and a substantial portion of these gender/race differences can be explained by group-differences in the belief that discrimination causes inequality. In addition, we find that respondents report lower levels of support for workplace policies when these policies are framed as a mechanism to increase diversity than when they are framed as being needed to address discrimination or if no justification is given for the policy. Our findings highlight the role of Research Question 1: How are individuals' race and gender associated with their support for workplace diversity policies? Key Finding: Blacks report the highest level of support for diversity policies, followed by Latinos, with whites showing the lowest levels of support. Across gender, women are more supportive of diversity policies than men. Research Question 2: How are individuals' beliefs in the sources of race/gender inequality associated with support for workplace diversity policies? Key Finding: Respondents' beliefs about the sources of inequality, particularly the role of discrimination, are strong predictors of policy support. This is consistent across race/gender groups. Research Question 3: Do differences in individuals' beliefs about the sources of race/gender inequality explain race and gender differences in support for workplace diversity policies? Key Finding: Belief that discrimination causes inequality accounted for significant portions of the observed gender and racial differences in policy support.

Pathways toward Change: Ideologies and Gender Equality in a Silicon Valley Technology Company

“…The authors hypothesize that women who offer meritocratic explanations for inequality will be less inclined to support efforts to address structural causes of inequality, but they lack data on the change efforts these women actually undertake. New research similarly finds that survey respondents are more supportive of diversity policies when they believe that inequality is caused by discrimination and not individual traits and preferences (Scarborough, Lambouths, and Holbrook 2019). Therefore, existing research about people’s inequality beliefs hints at the actions they might take to mitigate that inequality (or to maintain it), but such research cannot investigate this question.…”

“…Although research on diversity programs demonstrates they are often ineffective (Dobbin, Schrage, and Kalev 2015; Duguid and Thomas-Hunt 2015; Kalev, Dobbin, and Kelly 2006), this research has not yet uncovered the ideological mechanisms underpinning various current diversity approaches. In addition, research on ideologies of inequality shows that executives tend to espouse individualistic explanations for inequality (Cech and Blair-Loy 2010; Scarborough, Lambouths, and Holbrook 2019); such research often suggests this might lead to less support of structural diversity changes, but such research cannot link ideologies to the actual actions of executives in organizations. This article bridges these literatures to reveal a novel theoretical insight: Organizational initiatives designed to achieve equality are limited in their reach and effectiveness because they remain anchored to individualistic gender ideologies, and in doing so, such programs reinforce the status quo rather than challenge it.…”

Understanding Inequality: Mexican Americans’ Stratification Beliefs

“…This results in the general invisibility of attitudes of those in the “racial middle” (O’Brien 2008), such as Asians and Latinxs. The limited literature on Latinxs’ racial attitudes reveals a lack of consensus regarding the placement of their attitudes in relation to that of Whites’ and Blacks’; some find that their attitudes are closer to Whites (Hunt 2007; Scarborough et al 2019), others find that they are closer to Blacks (Bobo 1998; Oh et al 2010; Scarborough et al 2019), and some find that they represent a distinct middle ground (Hughes and Tuch 2000; Hunt 1996, 2007; Merolla, Hunt, and Serpe 2011). Despite urgent calls for the inclusion of additional ethnoracial groups in the racial attitudes literature (Bobo 2000; Hunt 2007; Krysan 2000), research on the racial middle remains underdeveloped.…”

Employee Reactions to Positive Action Policies in the United Kingdom: Does the Organization’s Justification Matter?

“…Broadly, diversity management is defined as the implementation of practices and policies by which an organization attempts to facilitate the positive effects and inhibit the negative effects of diversity (Scarborough, Lambouths & Holbrook, 2019). Many in research and practice consider it a moral imperative for organizations to be demographically representative of the community in which they are based (see Pringle & Strachan, 2015in Bendl et al, 2015.…”