Workplace Diversity: Audience, Perspective, and Methodology

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (42) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Harvey ◽  
Alisha Francis
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Jill C. Bradley-Geist ◽  
James M. Schmidtke

Compared with women and racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants arguably have received less attention from organizational scholars of workplace diversity. Given increased rates of immigration worldwide and increasing societal scrutiny of immigration laws and policies, more research is needed to examine possible stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination faced by immigrants in the workplace. The current chapter reviews existing research related to immigrants specifically and diversity (e.g., contact hypothesis, mixed stereotype content model) more generally. The extant literature is organized using integrated threat theory as a framework to better understand potential precursors of discrimination against immigrants, including symbolic threats (e.g., perceived threats to the culture and language of “natives), realistic threats (e.g., perceived threats to jobs, perceived usage of tax dollars, perceived crime risk), and stereotyping (e.g. the ambivalent stereotypes of immigrants depending on their country of origin). The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research in this area.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Scarborough ◽  
Danny Lambouths ◽  
Allyson Holbrook

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 inequality beliefs in shaping worker support for diversity policies, suggesting directions for future research on how such beliefs are developed.


ILR Review ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Graham ◽  
Maura A. Belliveau ◽  
Julie L. Hotchkiss

Women lag men in their representation in management jobs, which negatively affects women’s careers and company performance. Using data from 81 publicly traded firms with more than 2,000 establishments, the authors examine the impact of two management structures that may influence gender diversity in management positions. The authors find no association between the presence of an HR executive on the top management team—a structure envisioned in practice as enhancing diversity but which could, instead, operate merely symbolically—and the proportion of women in management. By contrast, the authors show a strong, positive association between a previously unexamined measure of commitment to diversity—the hierarchical rank of the individual certifying the company’s required, confidential federal EEO-1 report—and women’s representation in management. These findings counter the common perception that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations are too weak to affect gender diversity. The authors discuss the implications for diversity scholarship, as well as for management practice and public policy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-168
Author(s):  
Raza M. Mirza ◽  
Lynn Mcdonald ◽  
Laura Tamblyn-Watts

Ageism in the workplace can have significant implications for older adults. While every individual should feel equal and have the right to employment free from discrimination due to age, many practices and policies do not appear to uphold this right in the labour market. Institutional practices and policies seem to perpetuate stereotypes about older people. A “pro-aging” campaign to raise awareness about ageism in the workplace was run in the City of Toronto in 2019. The campaign included posters and pop-up advertising of a fake aging cream and research on attitudes toward aging and understanding the “too old” narrative as part of inclusive workplace policies. Workplace diversity policies often do not include age considerations, and understanding the factors that lead to ageism may allow for the development of strategies to help combat it. Age-diverse workplaces may gain competitive advantage by learning to harness the power of intergenerational relationships.


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