Froidevaux, Ariane

Hall, Alison V

Smith, Shona

English

Purdue E-Pubs

Dismantling Bias Conference Series The Role of Stigma-Consciousness in the Demonstration of Allyship Behaviors amongst White Employees Shona Smith University of Texas at Arlington, shona.smith@uta.edu Alison V. Hall University of Texas at Arlington, alison.hall@uta.edu Ariane Froidevaux University of Texas at Arlington, ariane.froidevaux@uta.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgg Recommended Citation Smith, Shona; Hall, Alison V.; and Froidevaux, Ariane () "The Role of Stigma-Consciousness in the Demonstration of Allyship Behaviors amongst White Employees," Dismantling Bias Conference Series: Vol. 3 : Iss. 10, Article 3. Available at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgg/vol3/iss10/3 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact epubs@purdue.edu for additional information.                                               The Role of Stigma-Consciousness in the Demonstration of Allyship Behaviors amongst WhiteEmployeesOver the years, there has been heighted awareness of DEI initiatives within academicresearch, including the topic of allyship and means to foster a more inclusive workplaceenvironment (Ashburn-Nardo, 2018). Research on allyship often addresses the methods through which one can be an ally, focusing more on the action component. Additionally, the emphasis on ways to foster inclusion is primarily targeted towards the organization, universities, and employees themselves. Missing is a cognitive approach as to why employees may or may not showcase allyship behaviors. This study examines this through the lens of stigma consciousness, with the focus being on White employees. Stigma consciousness addresses how targets believe their stereotyped status permeates their interactions with individuals of an outgroup (Pinel, 1999). This construct can be used as a basis for understanding how White employees high on stigma consciousness may believe that others in the workplace view them in their stereotyped identity. For Whites, this may implicate characteristics such as entitlement, privileged status, and ignorance, among other stereotypes. Recent research on White identification supports the notion that when White individuals believe that others view them as an ally, they become more willingto engage in allyship behaviors; however, for those who believe that minorities view them as“inactive”, White individuals are less willing to engage in allyship behaviors (Adra et al., 2020). For White employees high on stigma consciousness, this can create a “white double bind”. Good intentions are present, but due to their identity being tied to acts of discrimination and racism, it could lead to such intentions ceasing to turn into acts of allyship due to fear of saying or doingthe “wrong thing” (Sullivan, 2007). This results in the utilization of silence, thus passing up opportunities to invalidate the stereotypes attributed to their group (Pinel, 1999). Due to this, it                                      can be hypothesized that White employees with high stigma consciousness are less inclined to showcase major forms of allyship behaviors for fear of being judged. It is further hypothesized that those low in stigma consciousness won’t perceive others view them as their stereotyped identity, thus the fear of being judged is not present. What is present, however, is elevated levelsof collective guilt. Based on Knowles and colleagues’ (2014) 3-D model of White identitymanagement, White employees may engage in actions that dismantle systems of privilege due tocollective guilt, leading them to be inclined to show more prominent forms of allyship behaviorsas a means of decreasing their privilege. To test these interactions, data collection will occur inthree phases: a pilot study, a qualitative study, and a quantitative study. To begin, authors will conduct a pilot study collecting stereotypes about White employees from 100 participants on Prolific. Next, the authors will conduct semi-structured interviews with 25 White, workingprofessionals. The questions during the interviews will be focused on the hypothesized relationships, along with other variables that are not grounded in the proposed hypotheses. Thedata will then be analyzed before proceeding with the quantitative study, leaving room to makechanges to the hypothesized model if needed. Lastly, to test the hypothesized relationships, theauthors plan to implement a quantitative study design using survey data. The study will include aprimary sample of 400-500 White, full-time working adults recruited through Prolific. This studyadopts a two waves three-week time-lag design between each administration of the surveys. Time 1 data collection will focus on the independent variables and mediators, whereas Time 2 data collection will focus on the moderators and dependent variables. The study offers a uniqueperspective on the cognitive ways in which members of the dominant racial group chooses to engage, or not engage, in allyship behaviors. Along with the various ways that such behaviorsare showcased, there is reason to believe that simply because an individual does not engage in                                   allyship behaviors, does not mean that the intent or desire to do so is never present. This studyuses a conscious-level approach to examine that in both how one perceives they are viewed, thefeelings that such entails, along with the levels of identification one may have with their racial group. The belief is that with such understanding will come an increase in self-awarenessconcerning the mechanisms that act as antecedents to the engagement of allyship behaviors. Such understanding can aid in modifications amongst individuals to foster a more inclusive workplaceenvironment.                         ReferencesAdra, A., Li, M., & Baumert, A. (2020). What they think of us: Meta‐beliefs and solidarity‐based collective action among the advantaged. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6),1292-1305.Ashburn-Nardo, L. (2018). What can allies do? In A. J. Colella & E. B. King (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of workplace discrimination (pp. 373–386). Oxford University Press.Knowles, E. D., Lowery, B. S., Chow, R. M., & Unzueta, M. M. (2014). Deny, distance, ordismantle? How White Americans manage a privileged identity. Perspectives onPsychological Science, 9(6), 594–609. Pinel, E. C. (1999). Stigma consciousness: the psychological legacy of social stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(1), 114-128.Sullivan, S. (2007). On revealing whiteness: A reply to critics. The Journal of SpeculativePhilosophy, 21(3), 231-242.

The Role of Stigma-Consciousness in the Demonstration of Allyship Behaviors amongst White Employees

https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1142&context=cgg

The Role of Stigma-Consciousness in the Demonstration of Allyship Behaviors amongst White Employees

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