A Study of Interracial Differences in Turnover Intentions: The Mitigating Role of Pro-Diversity and Justice-Oriented Management

Enhancing racial justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion are the core values of public administration and critical to the functions of public-sector strategic human resources management. However, very limited empirical research has delved into the interracial differences in public sector employees’ turnover intentions and its mitigating factors. Using the 2006–2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey data, the present study aims to contribute toward filling this gap in the literature. The theoretical arguments and empirical findings of this study show that when compared with White employees, Federal Black, Indigenous, and Employees of Color (BIEOC) are significantly more likely to intend to leave their current organizations. However, the likelihood of turnover intentions of Federal employees, particularly, BIEOC can be reduced through institutional interventions anchored in pro-diversity management (e.g., commitment to fostering a racially representative workforce), distributive justice in employment outcomes (e.g., in pay and promotions) and procedural justice in organizational processes (e.g., anti-discrimination practices).

“Their accent is just too much”: Tracing the sonic color line in public radio production

How does the sonic color line manifest in the public radio production process? In this paper, I analyze how voices are evaluated as (in)appropriate for broadcast in a public radio story. Using 75 interviews with public radio employees of color, I identify two main points in the production process where public radio standards disproportionately exclude voices marked as nonwhite: in sourcing stories and in voicing stories. Further, these evaluations place a burden on public radio employees of color that seek to deviate from these exclusionary standards. Tracing this industry’s production process reveals the sonic color line at work in evaluating voices as (in)appropriate for the airwaves.

Addressing the Relationship Between Emotion Management and Social Capital: An Analysis of Federal Employees

Emotion management describes the ability of an employee to regulate the outward manifestation of emotions during personal interactions. Prior studies examining emotions in organizations have often emphasized the production of emotional labor during service delivery transactions with clients. Such a focus has overlooked the emotion management that takes place between employees. Using ordinary least- squares (OLS) regression, this study analyzes the 2016 Merit Principles Survey of federal employees to examine the relationship between emotion management and the development of social capital. Findings from the study show a positive relationship between emotion management and social capital. These findings provide evidence that employees capable of properly regulating their emotional states during interactions with their colleagues perceive themselves as having more social capital. The findings, however, also indicate that the positive relationship between emotion management and social capital does not hold for employees of color to the same extent that it does for white employees. This could mean that emotion management by employees of color is less likely to lead to increases in social capital as it is for their white counterparts. These findings have important implications for our understanding of emotion management and its impact on how employees navigate their organizations.

Whiteness in Organizations: From White Supremacy to Allyship

Many whites do not identify with a racial group. They think very little about their own race and the consequences of being born into the dominant racial group. They do not think much about race because they do not have to. As a member of the dominant group, whites view their race as the norm. Furthermore, whites consciously or unconsciously typically view their experiences as race-less. In actuality whites’ experiences are far from race-less. Many whites also fail to acknowledge the privileges their racial group provides. As long as whites continue to dominate leadership roles and positions of power in organizations, there will continue to be strong in-group bias providing unearned advantages to whites in the workplace, such as greater hiring and advancement opportunities. Additionally, as long as whites fail to acknowledge privilege, they will likely adopt a color-blind perspective, which in turn leads to a lack of recognition of microaggressions and other forms of discrimination as well as a lack of support for organizational initiatives to improve opportunities for employees of color. In order to create a more inclusive workplace, it is imperative that both whites and white dominated organizations promote and foster white allies. For whites who wish to become allies, acknowledging white privilege is a necessary but insufficient step. Becoming a white ally also requires questioning meritocracy as well as working in collaboration with employees to implement lasting change.

Development and Implementation of a Culturally Responsive Mentoring Program for Faculty and Staff of Color

This paper describes a mentoring program for university employees of color and American Indians that employs a culturally responsive mentoring framework. The mission of the program is to foster a community of support and interdependence to assist members to navigate the university systems, so that members can thrive and, ultimately, be successful. The partnership and collaboration among faculty, staff, and students of color across campus has created a robust mentoring network that has organically grown stronger through the diversity of members represented. This paper discusses the history, goals, components, and outcomes of the culturally responsive mentoring program, and the plans for the future. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for individuals, researchers, and administrators who might consider adopting a similar mentoring program to improve retention, recruitment, and satisfaction of employees of color in their respective higher education institutions.

Heterosexism in the Workplace

This article examined the effects of multiple group memberships and relational demography on the workplace experiences of 534 gay employees, 162 of whom were gay employees of color. Two competing models of multiple group membership were tested by assessing the effects of race and gender on sexual orientation discrimination and the decision to disclose a gay identity at work. Race and gender were unrelated to heterosexism. Lesbians were as likely to disclose as gay men, but gay employees of color were less likely to disclose at work. Relational demography predictions were supported for race and sexual orientation but not for gender, suggesting that gender similarity predictions may not apply to gay employees. More heterosexism was reported with male supervisors or work teams, and these effects were stronger for lesbians than gay men. Irrespective of race, employees in racially balanced teams reported less heterosexism than those in primarily White or non-White teams.