“It’s impossible because we have a great culture here,” he recalls saying, when asked about the exchange during one 60 minutes interview with Lesley Stahl. “We’re—we’re the best place to work. And we do no such thing. We don’t play dumb by paying people – paying people unequally. It’s unheard of. It ‘s crazy.”
Even as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives grow in the industry—the global market for DEI is expected to more than doubled to $24 billion to 2030—often face obstacles from managers who believe that while inequality is pervasive, it is simply not a problem within their institution.
Previous research attributes this refusal to the fact that managers often belong to a demographic majority (white or male) or they have conservative views who oppose such initiatives. But Mariam Kouhakiprofessor of management and organizations at Kellogg, felt that this explanation was incomplete.
Instead, Kouhaki and her colleagues found that managers are blind to these problems because they align their self-esteem with how they feel about their organization. Maintaining this positive view of their company (and thus themselves) prevents them from recognizing problems in their own organization, even if they can clearly see them in other companies.
“Inequality is present everywhere,” says Koutsaki, who conducted the research with Christopher To of Rutgers University and Eland Cerf of the University of North Carolina. “But people in powerful positions have a sense of ownership over the organization and cannot see this inequality in their own context. Their role (in addition to their individual identities) may lead them to think this way.”
However, the research team found that there is a way to open managers’ eyes to the issue – and help them keep their biases in check.
The problem of structural power
Organizations often advocate for fair treatment of employees, defined here as fair and impartial recruitment, retention, treatment and evaluation processes that allow equal access to opportunities while recognizing structural inequalities.
However, these processes must ultimately be put into place by individuals, and PPC initiatives often face resistance from managers.
Kouhaki and her team wondered if the resistance was related to their role and the amount of power or control over others these managers tended to have in their organizations. Previous research suggests that having more power leads people to feel a greater sense of responsibility for the organization and its members. And while this makes managers want to act in such ways fair and justit also leads them to feel more sensation organizational identity. That is, their self-esteem is linked to the value of the organization.
Kouhaki and her team wondered if this organizational identification blinded managers from noticing potential negative issues within their team—including inequality. Perhaps managers want to believe that their organization is good and fair and therefore cannot see the inequities that exist in their own unit.
To study the issue and test its hypothesis, the research team first looked at surveys of federal employees that gather information on a range of workplace behaviors and prohibited practices. The team found seven surveys (taken by a total of more than 60,000 participants between 1993 and 2016) that included questions about structural strength and perceptions of inequality. Survey participants indicated whether or not they were a supervisor and also answered questions such as, “In my experience in my organization, men and women are equally respected,” on a scale of 1 to 5.
The research team found that those in positions of power reported less inequality in their organizations. This was true across years and organizations, and was true even when the research team controlled for age, race, gender, experience, and education.
Managers are not blind to the problem
To investigate whether this blindness was a result of organizational identification, the team recruited nearly 1,000 participants to take a survey about their workplace. Participants were asked if they supervised or managed others, and then rated how much they identified with their organization in response to questions such as: “How much do you value being a member of your workplace?” They also rated the level of inequality in their organizations by responding to statements such as, “In my workplace, men and women are treated equally.”
Again, people in managerial positions reported less racial and ethnic inequality in their organizations, with managers reporting 13 percent less inequality in their organization than non-managers. Importantly, managers also reported more identification with their organization than non-managers.
Importantly, this does not mean that managers cannot see inequality. In a separate study, some participants rated their own workplace, while others rated other workplaces. Managers and non-managers rated inequality in other workplaces similarly. But when they rated inequality in their organization, managers rated it 17 percent lower than non-managers.
“It shows that managers are not blind to the problem,” Kouhaki says. “They just can’t see it in their body.”
Biases also affect budget allocations
This perceptual tunnel vision could lead companies to disinvest in areas they otherwise might not.
The research team recruited more than 350 participants for an online survey. Respondents were asked to allocate $50,000 in their workplace budget to one of six job groups: technology and IT, finance and operations, marketing and sales, accounting, ethics and legal, and diversity. Participants read about the goals for each workgroup and how that workgroup implemented programs to achieve the goals. The diversity task force aimed to review and improve practices to reduce discrimination and prejudice with programs such as diversity training seminars and minority mentoring programs.
Participants also answered the same questions about structural power, perceived inequality, and organizational identity from previous surveys.
The team found that those higher up in an organization were less likely to support the diversity task force and its programming. Managers were 19 percent less supportive than non-managers of diversity initiatives.
“We wanted to see how this result translates into action, into resource allocation,” Koutsaki says. “And it shows that this bias is consistent.”
To remove bias, show proof of inequality
But there is a way to get managers to see their own biases.
In a final study, more than 700 participants took a survey in which they answered the same questions about inequality and structural power. They were also given the same budget allocation process. But this time, before allocating resources, some respondents were asked to recall an occasion when a person in their workplace experienced bias or inequality.
The result was remarkable. Managers who were asked to address these disparities allocated 30 percent more funding to diversity initiatives than those who were not asked about them.
“Exposure to this idea of inequality in their own workplace immediately reduced prejudice,” Kouhaki says. “Then managers were more likely to support diversity initiatives.”
The same was true of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. When he was shown the evidence that women in his organization were underpaid, he used millions of dollars help alleviate the problem.
“A lot of times, we can see systemic problems, but we think we’re different from other people,” Kouhaki says. “We are intentionally not aware and we don’t recognize that these problems could happen anywhere.”
Observation of possible inequalities
Managers, take note: your teams may see inequality in your organization, even if you don’t.
Kouhaki advises that we actively look for processes that could perpetuate inequalities. Pay may be equal for both men and women, for example, but bonuses may not be.
“Make sure you’re intentional and gather information about potential disparities,” Kouhaki says.
