Originally published here.

Racial diversity and equality are important social issues in our world today. One place where efforts to improve diversity and address racial inequality have had a profound effect is in the workplace (Dobbin, 2009; Kalev, Dobbin, and Kelly, 2006). Companies are pumping more money and devoting more energy than ever before into efforts to increase and support workplace diversity (Dobbin, 2009; Scarborough, 2017).

Not only do more diverse firms perform better than their homogenous counterparts (Herring, 2009), but failure to address internal issues of diversity can hurt a company’s reputation and be expensive – with lawsuits costing some companies millions of dollars (Merrill Lynch has paid nearly half a billion dollars in discrimination-related lawsuits since the 1990s [Dobbin and Kalev, 2016]).  These pressures have led many companies to adopt policies aimed at encouraging and supporting diversity.

These policies take on a wide range of forms, such as diversity training, mentorship programs, and/or the establishment of diversity offices. As diversity policies have become a vital part of U.S. companies in recent history (Edelman et al., 2011), scholars have given more attention to these programs from an organizational perspective (Dobbin, Schrage, and Kalev, 2015; Kalev, Dobbin, and Kelly, 2006). We now have a wealth of evidence about what types of diversity programs work and which ones do more harm than good (Correll et al., 2014; Kaiser et al., 2013; Kalev, Dobbin, and Kelly, 2006).

We also know that some companies may use diversity policies symbolically, primarily to protect themselves from lawsuits or to enhance their company’s reputation, rather than making a genuine effort to improve worker inclusion (Edelman, 2002; Edelman et al., 2011; Edelman, Uggen, and Erlanger, 1999).

In this study, we asked two over-arching questions: how do people feel about diversity policies and why do they feel that way? Our results shed insight on both the literature examining diversity policies in organizations and the body of research focusing more explicitly on affirmative action. Consistent with prior evidence about attitudes toward affirmative action (Bobo, 1998; Bobo and Kluegel, 1993; Steeh and Krysan, 1996), respondents’ support for workplace diversity policies varies widely by gender and race, with women and non-whites espousing the highest levels of support, while whites and men report the lowest support.

Also resonating with previous research on attitudes toward affirmative action policies (Boeckmann and Feather, 2007; Dawson 2001; Kane and Whipkey, 2009; Vescio et al., 2016), we found that beliefs about inequality are strong predictors of support for workplace diversity policies. The similarities between our findings and those from studies focusing explicitly on affirmative action

By analyzing support for diversity policies, we hope to shed light on some of the opportunities and constraints organizations may face when designing or implementing such initiatives. As organizations continue to invest in diversity programs, they will have more success in environments where employees link discrimination to inequality.

If such an environment does not exist, workplaces can take small steps, such as implementing voluntary training programs or engaging workers in thoughtful discussions and problem solving sessions, to introduce the concept of discrimination and its role in shaping patterns of social inequality.

Indicate that the lessons from that body of literature remain highly relevant in discussions of workplace diversity policies that do not use the language of “affirmative action”.   Beyond supporting previous research on affirmative action, this study also provides critical insight for researchers of workplace dynamics and inequality. Importantly, we found that beliefs about discrimination as a cause of inequality and the endorsement of structural reasons for class inequality were strong predictors of individuals’ support for diversity policies.

In light of previous research reporting that employee support is crucial for the success of diversity programs (Dobbin, Schrage, and Kalev, 2015), these findings provide guidance for workplace managers aiming to run successful diversity initiatives. One effective way to foster support for diversity policies among employees is to inform them about the role of discrimination and social structures in patterns of gender, race, and class inequality.

Building workplace consciousness around the role of discrimination in patterns of inequality will also reduce gender/race differences in policy support – as our study showed that these beliefs were a major reason why whites and men espoused less support for workplace policies than non-whites and women.   Consistent with the centrality of beliefs in discrimination and the structural causes of class inequality, we also found that respondents are more supportive of race-based diversity policies when justified to address discrimination as opposed to when they are justified to increase diversity.

These findings affirm previous research showing that workplace bias towards underrepresented groups is reduced when inclusion programs are framed as being necessary to maintain legal civil rights (Williams 2017). Through justifying diversity programs as being needed to address discrimination, such policies may garner more support since discrimination is a violation of civil rights.

You can read the complete article here.