Unseen Injustice: Incivility as Modern Discrimination in Organizations

Abstract

This article advances a theory of incivility as a veiled manifestation of sexism and racism in organizations. To support this argument, I draw from social psychological research on modern discrimination. The result is a multilevel model of selective incivility, with determinants at the level of the person, organization, and society. Selective incivility could be one mechanism by which gender and racial disparities persist in American organizations, despite concerted efforts to eradicate bias. I discuss scientific and practical implications.

Comparing victim attributions and outcomes for workplace aggression and sexual harassment.

“…These findings suggest that victims may experience the same mistreatment differently, depending on contextual factors (Langhout et al, 2005), such as the gender composition of their work group. This also might help in assessing the perceptual nuances of Cortina's (2008) argument that minorities and women are more likely to be victimized. Our finding suggests that in environments in which one's gender is dominant, victims may in fact perceive incivility as an attack on their gender, and therefore experience incivility in the same way as they might experience gender harassment or discrimination.…”

“…Cortina (2008) argued that because of increased legal attention to sexual harassment and discrimination, overt sexual harassment and discrimination has declined. However, Cortina convincingly theorized that these formerly overt behaviors may now manifest themselves, either consciously or unconsciously, in the form of incivility toward minorities and women.…”

“…For example, to the extent that victims blame mistreatment on a perpetrator's attitudes toward their gender, they may be more likely to take formal action (e.g., legal action, union grievance) against the company. Therefore, companies may need to pay closer attention to seemingly less intense forms of mistreatment, such as incivility (Andersson & Pearson, 1999), because in the context of a work environment that is male dominated, such mistreatment may be perceived as-and may indeed be-a hidden form of sexual harassment (Cortina, 2008).…”

Subtle Discrimination in the Workplace: A Vicious Cycle

“…Thus, in line with our previous discussion of the dimensions on which discrimination can vary, a pressing issue to consider is the degree to which perpetrators intend to discriminate (e.g., perhaps, the well-intentioned are unaware, or the illintentioned are too busy regulating their overt behaviors to be aware of their subtle ones). Indeed, research on victimization (Jensen, Patel, & Raver, 2014) and incivility (Cortina, 2008) suggests that discrimination, at times, can be subtle but also conscious and intentional. For example, Jensen and colleagues (2014) found that much of the covert victimization reported by employees targeted for overachieving was perceived to be both subtle and intentional, such as the intentional withholding of information and exclusion from team tasks.…”

Editorial: Three Perspectives of Employment Discrimination 50 Years After the Civil Rights Act—A Promise Fulfilled?

“…Rather than the overt denials of opportunity on the basis of one's identity group membership typical in the past, much of the recent evidence depicts more subtle, covert types of discrimination such as bullying (Fox and Stallworth 2005), incivility (Cortina 2008), microaggressions (Sue 2008), or harassment (Schneider et al 2000). In fact, one study found that ''most experiences of ethnic harassment in the workplace during the previous 24 months included verbal ethnic harassment (i.e., ethnic slurs, derogatory ethnic comments, or ethnic jokes)'' (Schneider et al 2000, p. 3).…”