Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Analyzing Backlash against Gender Equity in Organizations

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

One marker of a modern society is the belief that organizational rewards should be based on merit and not on ascriptive characteristics like sex and race. However, sometimes when organizations attempt to make their hiring, evaluation, and promotion processes meritocratic, their employees, consumers, and the public resist these changes. While there are numerous theories that suggest what might underlie such backlash, there is little evidence of what causes it. This project asks what produces backlash to gender diversity initiatives and which factors can reduce backlash. The project will address a fundamental social psychological question: which factors can override the psychological tendency for individuals to defend their group status and the status quo when either appears to be threatened? Findings of this project can help organizational leaders increase buy-in as they attempt to implement changes that will reduce workplace gender inequity and make their firms more meritocratic. The study derives hypotheses from diverse sociological and psychological literatures, including group position theory, system justification theory, moral foundations theory, and identity control theory. Hypotheses suggest that messaging that provides data illustrating the extent of the gender inequality or its illegitimacy, minimizes threat to male group position, justifies the intervention using particular moral values (like loyalty and respect) or business motivations, or frames the intervention as influencing rather than adjusting the organizational practices, will be more successful in garnering support for the initiative compared to messaging that does not. Using six original experiments, the project determines whether and among whom support for an organizational gender intervention increases if its announcement: (1) provides data illustrating the extent of the gender inequality; (2) provides evidence that the gender inequality is illegitimate; (3) reduces threat against male group position; (4) justifies the intervention using particular moral values; (5) justifies the intervention using business motivations rather than moral motivations; and (6) frames the intervention as influencing or adjusting the organizational practices. Subjects will be recruited from a nationally representative sample, thus enhancing the external validity of the findings. Findings will provide evidence for key theories and assist business organizations in deriving strategies to reduce gender inequity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.