Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-11T06:23:22.662Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Taking the Ambiguity Out of Subtle and Interpersonal Workplace Discrimination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2017

Christopher K. Marshburn ,
Nicole T. Harrington  and
Enrica N. Ruggs
Christopher K. Marshburn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Nicole T. Harrington
Affiliation:
Organizational Science, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Enrica N. Ruggs*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Enrica N. Ruggs, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001. E-mail: eruggs@uncc.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In their target article, Jones, Arena, Nittrouer, Alonso, and Lindsey (2017) make a compelling argument that discrimination may be best conceptualized continuously rather than categorically with respect to dimensions of subtlety, formality, and intentionality. We agree that such a framework can help capture the multifaceted nature of discrimination. The authors note that subtle and interpersonal discrimination, in particular, are difficult to address through formal organizational policy. In the workplace, subtle and often interpersonal discrimination can be overlooked or attributed to misunderstanding and, thus, may go unpunished (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2004).

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 87 - 93
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2006). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Cortina, L. M. (2008). Unseen injustice: Incivility as modern discrimination in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 33, 55–75. doi:10.5465/AMR.2008.27745097 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cortina, L. M., Kabat-Farr, D., Leskinen, E. A., Huerta, M., & Magley, V. J. (2013). Selective incivility as modern discrimination in organizations evidence and impact. Journal of Management, 39, 1579–1605. doi:10.1177/0149206311418835 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241–1299. doi:10.2307/1229039 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DiAngelo, R. (2011). White fragility. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 3, 54–70. Retrieved from http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/view/1027 Google Scholar
Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2004). Aversive racism. In Zanna, M. P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 36, pp. 1–52). San Diego, CA: Elsevier Academic. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(04)36001-6 Google Scholar
Embrick, D. G. (2011). The diversity ideology in the business world: A new oppression for a new age. Critical Sociology, 37, 541–556. doi:10.1177/0896920510380076 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyers, L. L. (2010). Alternatives to silence in face-to-face encounters with everyday heterosexism: Activism on the interpersonal front. Journal of Homosexuality, 57, 539–565. doi:10.1080/00918361003608749 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, K. P., Arena, D. F., Nittrouer, C. L., Alonso, N. M., & Lindsey, A. P. (2017). Subtle discrimination in the workplace: A vicious cycle. Industrial Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 10 (1), 51–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, C. R., & Major, B. (2006). A social psychological perspective on perceiving and reporting discrimination. Law & Social Inquiry, 31, 801–830. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4469.2006.00036.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, E., & Dobbin, F. (1998). How affirmative action became diversity management employer response to antidiscrimination law, 1961 to 1996. American Behavioral Scientist, 41, 960–984. doi:10.1177/0002764298041007008 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, E. B., Shapiro, J. R., Hebl, M. R., Singletary, S. L., & Turner, S. (2006). The stigma of obesity in customer service: A mechanism for remediation and bottom-line consequences of interpersonal discrimination. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 579–593. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.579 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mor Barak, M. E. (2014). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Nelson, J. C., Adams, G., & Salter, P. S. (2013). The Marley hypothesis: Denial of racism reflects ignorance of history. Psychological Science, 24, 213–218. doi:10.1177/0956797612451466 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norton, M. I., & Sommers, S. R. (2011). Whites see racism as a zero-sum game that they are now losing. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 215–218. doi:10.1177/1745691611406922 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ruggs, E. N., Martinez, L. R., & Hebl, M. R. (2011). How individuals and organizations can reduce interpersonal discrimination. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5, 29–42. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00332.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singletary, S. L., & Hebl, M. R. (2009). Compensatory strategies for reducing interpersonal discrimination: The effectiveness of acknowledgments, increased positivity, and individuating information. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 797–805. doi:10.1037/a0014185 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Unzueta, M. M., Knowles, E. D., & Ho, G. C. (2012). Diversity is what you want it to be: How social dominance motives affect construals of diversity. Psychological Science, 23, 303–309. doi:10.1177/0956797611426727 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed