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的奖励应该基于绩效，而不是性别和种族等特征。然而，有时当组织试图使他们的招聘、评估和晋升过程精英化时，他们的员工、消费者和公众会抵制这些变化。虽然有许多理论表明这种反弹可能是什么原因造成的，但几乎没有证据表明是什么原因造成的。这个项目询问是什么导致了对性别多样性倡议的抵制，以及哪些因素可以减少抵制。该项目将解决一个基本的社会心理学问题：当个人的群体地位和现状受到威胁时，哪些因素可以超越个人捍卫其群体地位和现状的心理倾向？这个项目的研究结果可以帮助组织领导者在试图实施减少工作场所性别不平等的变革并使他们的公司更加精英化的过程中获得更多的支持。本研究从不同的社会学和心理学文献中提取假设，包括群体立场理论、制度辩护理论、道德基础理论和身份控制理论。假设表明，提供数据说明性别不平等程度或其非法性的信息传递，最大限度地减少对男性群体地位的威胁，证明使用特定道德价值观（如忠诚和尊重）或商业动机进行干预是合理的，或将干预定义为影响而不是调整组织实践，与不这样做的信息传递相比，将更成功地获得对倡议的支持。通过六个原始实验，该项目确定如果组织性别干预的声明：(1)提供说明性别不平等程度的数据；(2)提供证据证明性别不平等是不合理的；(3)减少对男性群体地位的威胁；(4)以特定的道德价值观为干预辩护；(5)利用商业动机而非道德动机来证明干预的正当性；(6)将干预定义为影响或调整组织实践。研究对象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有效性。研究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。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

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.