Promoting Inclusive Environments: In-group Organizational Endorsement as a Tool to Increase Feelings of Identity-Safety among Black Women

Abstract

Black women face unique and harmful biases because of their intersecting and multiple marginalized identities, which are different from those experienced by Black men and White women (Crenshaw in s. Cal. l. Rev., 65, 1467., 1991. As organizations work to create more inclusive environments for minoritized employees, it is important to test effective messaging and identity-safe cues (i.e., cues that enhance feelings of identity acceptance) for Black women. In the current research, we investigate a new identity-safe cuein-group organizational endorsement. This technique involves two components: (a) learning about the successful experiences of a former Black female employee and (b) a persuasive message asserting that out-group employees can be supportive role models and mentors within the organization. In a pilot experiment (N = 182) and Study 1 (N = 236), Black female participants were more likely to believe role models and mentors can have different identities, to anticipate more identity-safety, and to have higher attraction to an organization that was endorsed by a former Black female employee compared to a White woman employee. Study 2 (N = 214) further demonstrated that in-group organizational endorsement was effective among Black female students early in their college career. Relative to a control group, Black female students in their 1 st -3 rd year who received the in-group endorsement intervention indicated higher identitysafety at their university and were more likely to pursue professional interactions with out-group members. For institutions that are actively working to promote inclusivity and pro-diversity norms among their employees, in-group organizational endorsement is one effective identity-safety signal for communicating such environments.

Can I see myself there? How Black potential applicants use diversity cues to learn about graduate program climate.

“…Future research should also consider individual difference variables that may play an important role in predicting potential applicants' perceptions of a graduate program, such as stigma consciousness, the intersection of race with gender and other social identities, and centrality of group identification more generally. Additionally, the published literature suggests that the medium in which cues are presented, and the source of such information, may play a role in one's perceptions of the DEI culture (Burrows et al, 2022;Pietri et al, 2018Pietri et al, , 2021. These possibilities can be explored in future studies through the use of videos, testimonials from members of a department, or even climate survey reports.…”

Signaling safety and fostering fairness: Exploring the psychological processes underlying (in)congruent cues among Black women.

“…4The two photos were pilot tested in previously published work, which ensured the two photos were matched on attractiveness, perceived competence, perceived success, and perceived age; see Burrows et al (2022).…”