Prejudice matters: understanding the reactions of Whites to affirmative action programs targeted to benefit Blacks.
The authors examined, in 2 studies, the effects of equal employment opportunity/affirmative action (EEO/AA) policies on Whites' job-related attitudes. First, in an experiment, White prospective job recruits, as expected, rated a potential employer whose EEO/AA policies were framed as targeted to benefit Blacks as less attractive than a potential employer whose EEO/AA policies were framed more generally. Second. the results of a field study showed that prejudice against Blacks moderated the relationship between Whites' perceptions that their organization's EEO/AA policies were targeted to benefit Blacks and their satisfaction with promotion opportunities. Specifically, among prejudiced Whites, this relationship was negative and considerable in size (r = -.39. p < .01); whereas, among nonprejudiced Whites, it was negligible (r = -.04, ns). The implications of our findings for the study of prejudice in organizations are discussed.
James
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Goizueta Business School, Emory University, USA. jamese@darden.virginia.edu
Brief
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AP
Dietz
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Cohen
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D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D011640:Public Policy; D012922:Social Change; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People