{"title":"Diversity initiatives: Intended and unintended effects","authors":"Lisa M. Leslie, Y. Lillian Kim, Emily R. Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101942","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The prevalence of diversity initiatives in organizations has prompted significant debate regarding whether they are necessary and effective. This paper provides a synthesis of classic and contemporary work on the effectiveness of diversity initiatives. We define diversity initiatives as practices used by organizations to improve the experiences and outcomes of marginalized social groups, and briefly review how both the labels used to refer to diversity initiatives and the underlying motives for adopting them have shifted over time. To understand their effectiveness, we review research on whether diversity initiatives work as intended, as well as whether they produce detrimental, unintended effects, including backfire (e.g., increased discrimination against target groups) and negative spillover (e.g., negative attitudes among non-target groups). Finally, we review research on strategies for increasing diversity initiative effectiveness that either increase the likelihood of intended consequences or decrease the likelihood of detrimental, unintended consequences. Our review indicates that although diversity initiatives are not necessarily effective, there is considerable evidence that they are useful for improving workplace outcomes for the groups they target when implemented in certain ways. We conclude with a discussion of avenues for future research aimed at improving diversity initiative effectiveness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48279,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Psychology","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 101942"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Current Opinion in Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X24001556","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The prevalence of diversity initiatives in organizations has prompted significant debate regarding whether they are necessary and effective. This paper provides a synthesis of classic and contemporary work on the effectiveness of diversity initiatives. We define diversity initiatives as practices used by organizations to improve the experiences and outcomes of marginalized social groups, and briefly review how both the labels used to refer to diversity initiatives and the underlying motives for adopting them have shifted over time. To understand their effectiveness, we review research on whether diversity initiatives work as intended, as well as whether they produce detrimental, unintended effects, including backfire (e.g., increased discrimination against target groups) and negative spillover (e.g., negative attitudes among non-target groups). Finally, we review research on strategies for increasing diversity initiative effectiveness that either increase the likelihood of intended consequences or decrease the likelihood of detrimental, unintended consequences. Our review indicates that although diversity initiatives are not necessarily effective, there is considerable evidence that they are useful for improving workplace outcomes for the groups they target when implemented in certain ways. We conclude with a discussion of avenues for future research aimed at improving diversity initiative effectiveness.
期刊介绍:
Current Opinion in Psychology is part of the Current Opinion and Research (CO+RE) suite of journals and is a companion to the primary research, open access journal, Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology. CO+RE journals leverage the Current Opinion legacy of editorial excellence, high-impact, and global reach to ensure they are a widely-read resource that is integral to scientists' workflows.
Current Opinion in Psychology is divided into themed sections, some of which may be reviewed on an annual basis if appropriate. The amount of space devoted to each section is related to its importance. The topics covered will include:
* Biological psychology
* Clinical psychology
* Cognitive psychology
* Community psychology
* Comparative psychology
* Developmental psychology
* Educational psychology
* Environmental psychology
* Evolutionary psychology
* Health psychology
* Neuropsychology
* Personality psychology
* Social psychology