Support for employment equity policies: A self-enhancement approach

Ivona Hideg and D. Lance Ferris

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2014, vol. 123, issue 1, 49-64

Abstract: The effectiveness of employment equity (EE) policies has been hindered by negative reactions to these policies. We draw on the self-enhancement literature to expand self-interest accounts of reactions to EE policies to explain inconsistent findings showing that both nonbeneficiaries and beneficiaries react negatively to EE policies. Across four studies, we found that self-image threat influences reactions to gender-based EE policies. Studies 1 and 2 established that EE policies threaten the self-images of both men (nonbeneficiaries) and women (beneficiaries). Study 3 found that those least likely to experience self-image threat when faced with a gender-based EE policy are the most likely to show positive reactions to EE policies, while Study 4 showed that both men and women react more favorably to EE policies when self-images threats are mitigated through a self-affirmation task. Implications for our understanding of reactions to EE policies are discussed.

Keywords: Affirmative action; Employment equity; Gender; Self-image threat; Self-enhancement; Self-affirmation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:123:y:2014:i:1:p:49-64

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.11.002

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