What Kinds of Employment Discrimination Are Seen as Socially Acceptable, and by Whom?

• In Event: Reproducing Inequality at Work: Social Psychological Mechanisms (Co-Sponsored by Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section)

Abstract

Past research holds that perceptions about other people’s beliefs are critical to the expression of employment discrimination, yet no prior literature establishes the level of perceived acceptability of employment discrimination against a range of social dimensions of difference and specific social categories. Additionally, recent changes in political discourse around diversity, equity, and inclusion could induce partisan disparities in perceptions of the social acceptability of employment discrimination. We conducted an original survey to assess the levels of social acceptability of hiring discrimination against 112 social groups. We contribute novel empirical and theoretical insights into which groups are seen as more or less socially (un)acceptable targets of employment discrimination, and how partisan affiliation moderates these patterns.

Authors

• Emma Williams-Baron, Stanford University

• Claire Daviss, Cornell University

• Erin Macke, Stanford University