It’s not your fault: The social costs of claiming discrimination on behalf of someone else

Abstract

Two experiments examined responses to bystanders who claimed that another person experienced discrimination. Participants read about a woman or man who experienced sexism and whose co-worker (male or female) either expressed sympathy or claimed that the target experienced sexism. Participants then evaluated the co-worker (bystander). Overall, participants evaluated bystanders who claimed that someone else experienced discrimination more negatively than they evaluated bystanders who did not claim discrimination. Furthermore, female bystanders who claimed discrimination on behalf of someone else were derogated more than male bystanders who did the same. Additional analyses indicated that female bystanders who claimed that another person experienced discrimination were derogated more than male bystanders who did so because the former threatened participants’ beliefs about the fairness of status differences to a greater extent than the later.

From Backlash to Inclusion for All: Instituting Diversity Efforts to Maximize Benefits Across Group Lines

“…How recommendation meets goals and motivations for marginalized group members. Marginalized group members are often accused of being oversensitive complainers when they talk about discrimination (e.g., Eliezer & Major, 2012;Kaiser & Miller, 2001). However, these accusations may stem from dominant group members' lack of knowledge about historical and current manifestations of racism (Nelson, Adams, & Salter, 2013).…”

Allies against Sexism: The Role of Men in Confronting Sexism

“…Such self-interested acts tend to be less persuasive than acts that run counter to one's interests (Eagly, Wood, & Chaiken, 1978). As the reduction of sexism is generally seen to benefit women, women who confront may be thought to be acting out of self-interest (see Czopp et al, 2006;Eliezer & Major, 2012). Indeed, the more women are perceived to be trying to benefit their gender group, the more negatively and dismissively people react to their confrontations (Roy, Weibust, & Miller, 2009).…”

A comprehensive measure of attitudes and behaviour: Development of the Support for Gender Equality among Men Scale

“…The literature suggests that there are at least four ways in which men can publicly support gender equality: Men might engage in political activism (Iyer & Ryan, 2009;Stewart, 2016;Subašić et al, 2008;White, 2006), speak up when witnessing gender inequality (Cihangir et al, 2014;Czopp & Monteith, 2003;Czopp, Monteith, & Mark, 2006;Drury & Kaiser, 2014;Eliezer & Major, 2011;Rasinski & Czopp, 2010;Stangor et al, 2003), show a general interest in discourse on gender equality (Houvouras & Carter, 2008;Kaufman & Kimmel, 2011;Lemaster, Strough, Stoiko, & DiDonato, 2015), and foster an inclusive workplace culture (Armstrong, 2016;Liff & Cameron, 1997). Within the domestic sphere, men's support might include treating one's partner respectfully (Frei & Shaver, 2002;Hendrick & Hendrick, 2006;Hirsch, 2003;Vannoy, 1996), an equal division of household chores (Deutsch, 1999;Dotti Sani, 2014;Kosakowska-Berezecka et al, 2016;Lyness & Brumit Kropf, 2005), and equal involvement in parenting and childcare (Deutsch, 1999;Gärtner, 2007;Haas, 2003;Kato-Wallace et al, 2014;Scambor et al, 2014).…”