The skill paradox: Explaining and reducing employment discrimination against skilled immigrants

Using a social identity theory approach, we theorized that recruiters might be particularly biased against skilled immigrant applicants. We refer to this phenomenon as a skill paradox, according to which immigrants are more likely to be targets of employment discrimination the more skilled they are. Furthermore, building on the common ingroup identity model, we proposed that this paradox can be resolved through human resource management (HRM) strategies that promote inclusive hiring practices (e.g., by emphasizing fit with a diverse clientele). The results from a laboratory experiment were consistent with our predictions: Local recruiters preferred skilled local applicants over skilled immigrant applicants, but only when these applicants were qualified for a specific job. This bias against qualified and skilled immigrant applicants was attenuated when fit with a diverse clientele was emphasized, but not when fit with a homogeneous clientele was emphasized or when the hiring strategy was not explained. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on employment discrimination against skilled immigrants, including the role of inclusiveness for reducing discriminatory biases

Maïdo observatory: a new high-altitude station facility at Reunion Island (21° S, 55° E) for long-term atmospheric remote sensing and in situ measurements

Since the nineties, atmospheric measurement systems have been deployed at Reunion Island, mainly for monitoring the atmospheric composition in the framework of NDSC/NDACC (Network for the Detection of <i>Stratospheric</i> Change/Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). The location of Reunion Island presents a great interest because there are very few multi-instrumented stations in the tropics and particularly in the southern hemisphere. In 2012, a new observatory was commissioned in Maïdo at 2200 m above sea level: it hosts various instruments for atmospheric measurements, including lidar systems, spectro-radiometers and in situ gas and aerosol measurements. <br><br> This new high-altitude Maïdo station provides an opportunity:<br> 1. to improve the performance of the optical instruments above the marine boundary layer, and to open new perspectives on upper troposphere and lower stratosphere studies;<br> 2. to develop in situ measurements of the atmospheric composition for climate change surveys, in a reference site in the tropical/subtropical region of the southern hemisphere;<br> 3. to offer trans-national access to host experiments or measurement campaigns for focused process studies

Le paradoxe des compétences : Quand on discrimine les immigrés lorsqu'ils sont qualifiés mais pas lorsqu'ils ne le sont pas. [The skill paradox: Discrimination against qualified but not unqualified immigrants.]

Using a social identity theory approach, we theorized that recruiters might be particularly biased against skilled immigrant applicants. We refer to this phenomenon as a skill paradox, according to which immigrants are more likely to be targets of employment discrimination the more skilled they are. Furthermore, building on the common ingroup identity model, we proposed that this paradox can be resolved through human resource management strategies that promote inclusive hiring practices (e.g. by emphasizing fit with a diverse clientele). The results from a laboratory experiment were consistent with our predictions: local recruiters preferred skilled local applicants over skilled immigrant applicants, but only when these applicants were qualified for a specific job. This bias against qualified and skilled immigrant applicants was attenuated when fit with a diverse clientele was emphasized, but not when fit with a homogeneous clientele was emphasized or when the hiring strategy was not explained. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on employment discrimination against skilled immigrants, including the role of inclusiveness for reducing discriminatory biases

Prototypes de genre: Développement d'index descriptifs selon deux méthodes alternatives.

L'index descriptif de Schein (1973) est une liste de 92 items (p. ex., compatissant, intelligent) créée dans le but d'étudier les stéréotypes de genre. En particulier, Schein a étudié dans quelle mesure les stéréotypes des femmes et des hommes sont similaires à la représentation cognitive que les individus ont d'un bon manager. Les résultats ont démontré que leur représentation d'un bon manager correspondait dans une plus grande proportion à leur représentation des hommes qu'à celle des femmes. Dans notre recherche, suivant l'approche méthodologique de Schein nous avons développé un index de genre à travers deux études en maximisant les différences dans la description des femmes et des hommes. En parallèle, nous avons développé un second index basé sur une méthode alternative en sélectionnant les traits de caractère et compétences décrivant le plus les femmes et les hommes en valeur absolue et indépendamment du groupe de comparaison. Ces deux méthodes représentent les deux manières dont le concept de prototype peut être abordé. A travers le premier index, le concept de prototype correspond à la représentation cognitive que les individus ont d'un groupe et permettant de le distinguer d'autres groupes (Hogg &amp; Terry, 2000), alors qu'à travers le deuxième index le concept de prototype correspond à la représentation cognitive que les individus ont d'un groupe indépendamment des autres groupes de comparaison (Perry, Davis-Blake, &amp; Kulik, 1994). Chacun de ces deux index est composé de deux listes de 20 traits de caractère et compétences décrivant les femmes et les hommes en général. Notre travail contribue à la littérature sur les prototypes de genre à travers le développement d'index de genre (1) récents et (2) composés de deux listes distinctes : une liste décrivant les femmes et une liste décrivant les hommes. Notre travail contribue aussi à la littérature sur les prototypes de genre en développant des index de genre à partir de deux méthodologies différentes et ayant un impact sur le contenu de ces index

Why Women Rarely Rise to the Top: A Social Identity Model of Leader Prototypes.

Purpose We propose a social identity model of leader prototypes to address why the maleness of leader prototypes is more pronounced among men than among women (e.g., Schein, 2001). Specifically, we argue that individuals project their ingroup prototype (e.g., a male prototype) onto a valued other category (e.g., leaders) (e.g., Wenzel, Mummendey, Weber, &amp; Waldzus, 2003) in order to maintain a positive ingroup (e.g., gender) identity. We hypothesized that both women and men engage in ingroup projection of their gender prototype on their leader prototype, and we expected this effect to be stronger for men than women. We also investigated intelligence as a moderator of ingroup projection. Methodology Participants (276 students, University of Lausanne) assessed to what extent attributes on a list of gender traits were characteristic of a successful leader. We computed relative ingroup similarity scores (e.g., Waldzus &amp; Mummendey, 2004) representing the difference between how characteristic ingroup traits are for a successful leader, and how characteristic outgroup traits are for a successful leader. Results Results showed that men engaged in ingroup projection while women engaged in outgroup projection, and that men engaged in ingroup projection to a greater extent. We also found a small, but positive effect of intelligence on ingroup projection among men. Limitations The use of a student sample might limit the external validity of our findings. Implications Our findings contribute to research on the under-representation of women in managerial roles, and introduce intelligence as a predictor of ingroup projection. Value Our study allows for a more fine-grained understanding of the cognitive representations of leaders of men and women