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

现代社会的一个标志是相信组织奖励应该基于业绩，而不是性别和种族等归属特征。然而，有时当组织试图使他们的招聘，评估和晋升过程任人唯贤时，他们的员工，消费者和公众抵制这些变化。虽然有许多理论表明，什么可能是这种反弹的基础，有什么原因几乎没有证据。这个项目问什么产生反弹性别多样性的举措，哪些因素可以减少反弹。该项目将解决一个基本的社会心理学问题：哪些因素可以压倒个人的心理倾向，以捍卫他们的群体地位和现状时，似乎受到威胁？该项目的研究结果可以帮助组织领导者增加购买，因为他们试图实施变革，减少工作场所的性别不平等，使他们的公司更加任人唯贤。本研究的假设来源于不同的社会学和心理学文献，包括群体地位理论、制度正当性理论、道德基础理论和身份控制理论。假设表明，如果信息传递能提供数据，说明性别不平等或其不合法性的程度，尽量减少对男性群体地位的威胁，利用特定的道德价值观（如忠诚和尊重）或商业动机证明干预措施的合理性，或将干预措施框定为影响而不是调整组织做法，那么与不这样做的信息传递相比，这些信息传递在为倡议赢得支持方面会更成功。该项目使用六个原始实验来确定是否以及在哪些人中支持组织性别干预，如果它的宣布：（1）提供说明性别不平等程度的数据;（2）提供性别不平等是非法的证据;（3）减少对男性群体地位的威胁;（4）使用特定的道德价值来证明干预的合理性;（5）提供性别不平等的证据。（5）使用商业动机而不是道德动机来证明干预的合理性;（6）将干预视为影响或调整组织实践。受试者将从具有全国代表性的样本中招募，从而提高研究结果的外部效度。调查结果将为关键理论提供证据，并协助商业组织制定减少性别不平等的战略。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

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.