Collaborative Research: Diversity Structures Create Illusions of Fairness

今天，组织花费大量的时间和金钱来创建管理组织多样性的结构和程序。然而，相对而言，人们对创建的多样性结构实际上如何影响代表性不足的群体的成员知之甚少。这个研究项目关注的是，对于那些他们打算帮助的人来说，多样性结构的一个重要的、意想不到的成本——“公平的错觉”。研究人员提出，多样性结构有可能导致一种公平的错觉，即在高地位群体成员中对待代表性不足的群体成员。这种错觉使高地位群体的成员对弱势群体的歧视视而不见，对那些声称遭受歧视的人漠不关心。这项研究基于两个理论假设：1)大多数多样性结构实际上并没有使组织对代表性不足的群体成员更公平；2)大多数高地位群体成员认为，多元化项目使组织对代表性不足的群体成员更公平。本项目包括的实验测试了美国白人是否认为多元化项目为未被充分代表的群体成员创造了程序公平的环境，是否认为未被充分代表的群体成员的程序公平导致他们对歧视视而不见；参与者的群体地位（如白人或少数民族；男性或女性）和认可或启动的使地位差异合法化的信念是否会调节公平错觉；以及这种公平的错觉是否会延伸到“反向歧视”的例子中，即地位高的群体成员声称自己受到了歧视。作为扩大参与科学的一部分，这项研究为提高多样性结构的有效性以及减少对代表性不足群体成员的敌意提供了见解。研究反歧视法律和政策的研究人员和实践者，以及寻求建立和管理更多样化的劳动力的组织，都将对此感兴趣。此外，研究促进了教学、培训和学习。两位研究人员都在活跃的教学实验室工作，其中包括各种各样的博士后、研究生和本科生。这些学生将参与这项研究的实施，并在报告和论文中传播。

Today, organizations spend a great deal of time and money to create structures and procedures for managing organizational diversity. However, relatively little is known about how the diversity structures that are created actually affect members of underrepresented groups. This research project focuses on one significant, unintended cost of diversity structures for those they intend to help -- "the illusion of fairness." The investigators propose that diversity structures have the potential to cause an illusion of fairness concerning the treatment of members of underrepresented groups among members of high status groups. This illusion leaves members of high status groups blind to discrimination against underrepresented groups, and unsympathetic toward those who claim to experience discrimination. The research is based upon two theoretical assumptions: 1) most diversity structures do not actually make organizations fairer for members of underrepresented groups; and 2) most high status group members believe that diversity programs make organizations fairer for members of underrepresented groups. The experiments included in this project test whether White Americans believe that diversity programs create procedurally fair environments for members of underrepresented groups, whether the perceptions of procedural fairness for underrepresented group members lead them to be blind to discrimination; whether participants' group status (e.g., Whites or minorities; men or women) and endorsed or primed beliefs that legitimize status differences moderate the illusion of fairness; and whether the illusion of fairness extends to instances of "reverse discrimination" in which high status group members claim to experience discrimination. As part of the Science of Broadening Participation, this research offers insight into increasing the effectiveness of diversity structures as well as reducing animosity directed at members of underrepresented groups. It will be of interest to researchers and practitioners studying anti-discrimination law and policy, as well as to organizations seeking to build and manage a more diverse workforce. In addition, the research promotes teaching, training, and learning. Both investigators run active teaching labs that include a diverse group of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates. These students will be involved in the implementation of this research as well as its dissemination in presentations and papers.