“Diversity,” immigration, and the new American multi-racial hierarchy

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the new multi-racial hierarchy in the USA. The authors propose that despite increasing diversity, a multi-racial hierarchy of privilege and disadvantage continues to exist. Due to the history of anti-Black discrimination and stereotyping in the USA, employers prefer native and immigrant non-Blacks to native and immigrant Blacks, and use non-Blacks to claim organizational diversity success. Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose that a multi-racial hierarchy, ordered as Whites, Non-White Non-Blacks, and Collective Blacks now exists, and use history, relevant theory, existing research, and government data to support their ideas. Findings – Evidence suggests that despite increased diversity, Whites remain most privileged, Blacks least privileged, and Asians and Hispanics tend to comprise the middle of the hierarchy. Even in organizations that are “diverse,” a multi-racial hierarchy results in different compensation, promotion, and layoff rates and differential treatment across groups. Research limitations/implications – Diversity within and across different racial and ethnic groups should be investigated. Employers' apparent diversity success may obscure the continued dominance of Whites, disadvantage of Blacks, and a color-based multi-racial hierarchy. Practical implications – Analyses of human resources data could help organizations identify and avoid discrimination and inequality even in “diverse” organizations. Originality/value – This paper focuses on the meaning of a new multi-racial hierarchy in ways that have not been previously considered.

The impact of adolescents' racial and ethnic self-identity on hope

“…One visible difference is skin color. Bias based on skin color has been noted in North American (Bell et al, ; Hochschild & Weaver, ), South American (Perreira & Telles, ), European (Astell‐Burt et al, ), Middle East Asian (Zlotnick et al, ), and Oceanic (Grigg & Manderson, ) studies. Adolescent immigrants with darker skin color experienced more health concerns (Zlotnick et al, ) and school issues (Ryabov, ; Thompson & McDonald, ).…”

“…Adolescent immigrants with darker skin color experienced more health concerns (Zlotnick et al, ) and school issues (Ryabov, ; Thompson & McDonald, ). Adults with darker skin colors living in societies where the majority group has lighter skin color are likely to note that peers from minority groups with lighter skin color were more likely to obtain work (Bell et al, ). Thus, it may be darker skin color above and beyond minority status that is a determinant of lifecourse.…”

“…Increasingly, however, evidence demonstrates that the effects of racism extend beyond school and neighborhood boundaries (Astell‐Burt, Maynard, Lenguerrand, & Harding, ). Moreover, studies in several countries, including the United States (Bell, Marquardt, & Berry, ; Hochschild & Weaver, ), countries in Latin America (Perreira & Telles, ; Santana, Almeida‐Filho, Roberts, & Cooper, ), and Israel (Zlotnick et al, ) have found that, above and beyond immigrant status or ethnicity, individuals with darker skin color report higher levels of discrimination. Discrimination and perceptions of racism are related to lower self‐esteem and well‐being, and poorer health indicators.…”

Ethical Leadership Perceptions: Does It Matter If You’re Black or White?

“…Given the historic and current overrepresentation of Whites in leadership positions in the USA (Bell et al 2014;Maume 2012;Stainback and Tomaskovic-Devey 2009), it is not surprising that research has found that being White is a prototypical characteristic of a leader (e.g., Carton and Rosette 2011;Rosette et al 2008;Sy et al 2010). During the leader categorization process, non-White targets have a higher probability of receiving a non-leader designation, leading to a less favorable evaluation of effectiveness than White targets.…”

Critical Studies in Diversity Management Literature

“…Kulik (2014) identifies a research-practice gap in diversity management, and urges researchers and practitioners alike to acknowledge the challenges of above the line research, by considering diversity programmes (and not isolated practices), designing programme bundles, assessing the effectiveness of alternate programmes, contrasting diversity management and HRM programmes, as well as by placing more emphasis on macro-level outcomes. Bell et al (2014) underscores that, even in more diverse organizations, the emergence of a new multi-racial hierarchy perpetuates inequality through changing manifestations of differential treatment. Bell et al (2014) underscores that, even in more diverse organizations, the emergence of a new multi-racial hierarchy perpetuates inequality through changing manifestations of differential treatment.…”