Kecia M. Thomas

Is Multiculturalism or Color Blindness Better for Minorities

A debate is raging in workplaces, schools, universities, and political and legal arenas: Is it better to ignore or acknowledge group differences? Multiculturalism, a pluralistic ideology, stresses recognizing and celebrating group differences, whereas color blindness, an assimilationist ideology, stresses ignoring or minimizing group differences. Both ideologies arguably advocate for equality, but what are their actual consequences for minorities? Previous research documents divergent patterns of relationship between these ideologies and racial bias (see Park & Judd, 2005). Among dominant-group members, multiculturalism— whether experimentally manipulated or measured as an individual difference—predicts lower bias, whereas color blindness predicts greater bias (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000; Richeson & Nussbaum, 2004; Verkuyten, 2005; Wolsko, Park, & Judd, 2006). Yet no study has examined how the diversity beliefs of members of the dominant group affect the outcomes of targets. Furthermore, no study has tested this link in the ‘‘real world’’ among majority and minority individuals occupying the same setting. Therefore, in a field study, we investigated the effects of Whites’ diversity beliefs on their minority co-workers’ psychological engagement, a meaningful target outcome. Given that multiculturalism predicts decreased bias, and thus contributes to a positive diversity climate, and color blindness predicts increased bias, and thus contributes to a negative diversity climate, we hypothesized that Whites’ multiculturalism is associated with higher minority engagement and that Whites’ color blindness is associated with lower minority engagement. We tested these hypotheses in 18 work units in a large U.S. health care organization.

Organizational Attractiveness and Individual Differences: Are Diverse Applicants Attracted by Different Factors?

Recruiting is a critical staffing activity for organizations, but its impact on the job seeker is poorly understood. Much remains to be learned about individual differences in reactions to recruitment efforts. This paper discusses the results of a study of MBA candidates that examined (a) the relative importance of various job, organizational, diversity, and recruiter characteristics on assessments of organizational attractiveness, and (b) the extent to which these assessments differed when applicant race and gender are taken into account. Results confirmed that relative to organizational, diversity, and recruiter characteristics, job factors were reported as most important to organizational attraction. However, within the job, diversity, and recruiter characteristics categories interesting gender and/or race differences emerged. The implications of these differences for research and for practices are offered.

Assessing the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure for Measurement Equivalence Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

An increasing number of organizational researchers examine the effects of ethnic identity and other-group orientation. In doing so, many use Phinneys (1992) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), which purportedly allows simultaneous assessment of various groups. Although several studies demonstrate adequate validity and reliability for scores on the MEIM, the only two studies that have assessed its measurement equivalence across racial and ethnic groups (a) focus exclusively on the ethnic identity component, (b) use entirely adolescent samples, and (c) obtain somewhat mixed results. Because ethnic identity is still developing during adolescence, it cannot be assumed that equivalence or lack thereof among adolescents will generalize to adults. The present study examines the measurement equivalence of both components of the MEIM across racial and ethnic groups using a sample of 1,349 White, Hispanic, African American, and Asian American adults. The results suggest that Roberts et al.s revised version demonstrates evidence of measurement equivalence.

Is all sexual harassment viewed the same? Mock juror decisions in same- and cross-gender cases.

Given recent court decisions, there is a need to investigate less common forms of sexual harassment, including women harassing men and same-gender harassment. The present study was a 2 (harasser gender) x 2 (target gender) x 2 (participant gender) factorial design in which 408 mock jurors made decisions in a hostile work environment case. Women harassing men were more likely to be found guilty than were men harassing women, and harassers in same-gender cases were more likely to be found guilty and were perceived more negatively than harassers in cross-gender cases. Participant gender differences were found in cross-gender, but not same-gender, conditions. Results suggest that the gender composition of the harasser and target may be an extralegal factor influencing managerial and juror decision making.

Mentoring minority graduate students: issues and strategies for institutions, faculty, and students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine mentoring relationships involving minority graduate students in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – The authors take a multifaceted approach to providing strategies to improve the opportunities of minority students to acquire mentors by directing attention to institutional practices, faculty development, and the behaviors of students themselves.Findings – Mentoring relationships provide critical personal and professional development opportunities throughout ones career. These relationships are especially important for racial minorities who often lack access to informal networks and information that is required to be successful in academic and professional environments in which they are under‐represented. The lack of mentors for minority graduate students is important to consider given the potential impact of this experience for minority graduate students’ retention and subsequent success, but also for the future diversity of the discipline (especially i...

From Mammy to Superwoman: Images that Hinder Black Women's Career Development.

Black women, like other women of color, find themselves at the intersection of both racism and sexism in the workplace. Due to their unique dual status as racial and gender minorities, they encounter unique and unexplored barriers that inhibit their career as well as leadership development. The goal of this article is to highlight the emerging literature on how images of professional Black women align with their workplace experiences, and to highlight how these experiences may derail their ability to fully reach their potential. The authors also hope to motivate researchers and practitioners to investigate areas of practice that may better support these womens career development.

Intentions to initiate mentoring relationships: understanding the impact of race, proactivity, feelings of deprivation, and relationship roles.

The authors used a within-subjects experiment to examine the following influences on intentions to initiate informal mentorship: race similarity (RS), proactivity, feelings of race-related fraternal relative deprivation (RD), and roles in the potential mentoring dyads (roles). The authors instructed 126 White participants to assume the roles of upperclassmen or freshmen, provided them with the profiles of 12 potential protégés or mentors, and asked them to indicate their intentions to initiate mentorship. The authors found significant main effects of RS and proactivity, and a significant interaction effect between RS and proactivity. RD moderated the significant main effects. Roles also moderated the significant main effects and the interaction between RS and RD. The findings add to the literature of diversified mentoring and RD.

Minority Employees in Majority Organizations: The Intersection of Individual and Organizational Racial Identity in the Workplace

This article proposes a novel multidisciplinary and multilevel approach to understanding the complexity of diversity in organizations. Drawing on counseling psychology, developmental psychology, and Black psychology as well as other fields, the authors propose that racial identity theory helps to explain the relationships that develop between minority employees and the White-owned and White-managed organizations that employ them. Specifically, the authors outline four different types of employee-employer relationships that develop depending on the racial identity levels of both the minority employee and the organization as a whole. Understanding these relationships can be a useful diagnostic tool for identifying barriers to effective diversity management and minority employee retention.

Psychological privilege and ethnocentrism as barriers to cross-cultural adjustment and effective intercultural interactions

Abstract The increased occurrence of intercultural contact necessitates a better understanding of why sojourner assignments and expatriate positions often result in the traveler returning home early. Furthermore, increasing diversity within individual locales further mandates a better understanding of how to facilitate effective intercultural interactions. This paper proposes that a better understanding of home country privilege, and of the pervasiveness of ethnocentric world views when working abroad or with others who are somehow “different,” may impede ones probability of adjustment and subsequently of success. It is suggested that interventions and training programs geared toward improving the success rates of intercultural relationships should rely less on models that reinforce ethnocentricity and attend more to developing bicultural and multicultural identities in potential sojourners. The ethnic identity literature is reviewed in order to understand how a bi- or even multi-cultural identity may develop. Furthermore, it is suggested that tools for coping and succeeding in novel cultures may be revealed by examining the bicultural life experiences and strategies used by minority group members within the American cultural context.

The Roles of Protégé Race, Gender, and Proactive Socialization Attempts on Peer Mentoring:

The problem and the solution. A within-subjects design was used to examine the roles of newcomer race, gender, and proactive socialization attempts on potential mentors’ willingness to engage in peer mentoring. In this laboratory study, 110 White college students participated. Participants were encouraged to participate as mentors in a new peer mentoring program and were provided with the profiles of 12 potential protégés and asked to evaluate each. Results of repeated-measure ANOVA suggested that female participants were more likely to provide mentoring than were male participants and that mentors were more agreeable to mentoring those who were high in proactive socialization attempts regardless of protégés’ race or gender. However, protégé demographic characteristics did influence access to peer mentoring for protégés depicted as low or moderate in proactivity. A discussion of these findings and their implications for human resource development research and practice are offered.