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The Impact of Equal Employment Opportunity Statements in Job Advertisements on Applicants' Perceptions of Organizations
Abstract
An experiment conducted in New Zealand investigating the impact of the inclusion of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statements in job advertisements is reported. Male and female participants were presented with one of three versions of a recruitment advertisement for a managerial position with a fictitious organisation. Participants then completed a measure of organisational attractiveness for the company. The three advertisements were identical except for the Equal Employment Opportunity policy statement they included. One version included no EEO statement, one a minimal statement and one an extensive statement. There was no overall difference in organisational attractiveness as a function of the EEO statement type. However, there was an interaction between statement type and sex of participants. For female participants ratings of organisational attractiveness were highest in the extensive EEO statement condition and for male participants in the minimal statement condition. In addition female participants rated the organisation more positively than did male participants in the extensive statement condition. Implications for recruitment advertising are discussed.
... Besides describing the desired position, job advertisements often include a description of the organization itself. EEO statements explicitly present an organization's commitment to treating all employees and potential employees equally, regardless of characteristics not relevant to the job at hand (McNab & Johnston, 2002). Inclusion of EEO statements in organization descriptions is common in multiple national contexts (Backhaus, 2004;Jonsen et al., 2021;Rubaii-Barrett & Wise, 2007;Singh & Point, 2006;Windscheid et al., 2018), although not necessarily legally mandated. ...
... One factor that can increase the salience of cues regarding social identity contingencies is the perceived social identity ideology in a specific setting (Steele et al., 2002), where EEO statements can function as a cue regarding this ideology. Diversity and equality statements like EEO statements can indeed increase organizational attractiveness for job applicants from groups who are underrepresented in an organization (Avery, 2003;McNab & Johnston, 2002;Stevens et al., 2008), but not all framings of these statements are equally attractive to members of different social identities. ...
... With regards to gender, EEO statements that go beyond legal compliance with anti-discrimination laws and includes mention of support for specific marginalized groups increase organizational attractiveness for women, while EEO statements with a minimal scope increase organizational attractiveness for men (McNab & Johnston, 2002). However, when diversity messages in organizational descriptions specifically target women, compared with targeting all employees despite gender, perceived fit between organizational and personal values is lower for both women and men (Cundiff et al., 2018). ...
The current research addresses gender trouble (acts that question the naturalness of a binary gender system) in two parts of the recruitment situation: applicant attraction and evaluation. Experiment 1 (N = 1,147) investigated how different Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statements in an organization description influenced organizational evaluations. The EEO statements emphasized gender as binary (women and men), gender as diverse (multi‐gender), or gender as irrelevant (de‐gender; compared with no EEO statement). Gender minority participants experienced decreased identity threat in response to the multi‐gendered and the de‐gendered EEO statements, which increased organizational attractivity. There was no significant effect of EEO statement for gender majority participants. Multi‐gendered and de‐gendered EEO statements increased perceived gender diversity within the organization. Experiment 2 (N = 214) investigated how applicants with a normative or non‐normative gender expression were evaluated by HR‐specialists. Applicants with a non‐normative gender expression were rated as more suitable for the position and recommended a higher starting salary than applicants with a normative gender expression. Women with a non‐normative gender expression were rated as more likely to be employed than men with a non‐normative gender expression, while women applicants regardless of gender expression were rated as the most likely to acquire the position. This research indicates that gender minorities can be explicitly included in EEO statements without negative impact on gender majority groups and with a positive impact on gender minority groups. Furthermore, a non‐normative gender expression was not found to be a cause for biased evaluations in an initial recruitment situation.
... Although recruitment ads have been understudied (Breaugh & Starke, 2000), a few recent inquiries have examined methods of tailoring ads to better target minority and female job seekers (e.g., Highhouse, McNab & Johnston, 2002; Perkins, Thomas, & Taylor, 2000). These investigations have identified two cues in recruitment ads that are likely to be of particular interest to these populations: pictorial diversity and equal employment opportunity statements. ...
... Subsequently, researchers have found that Black applicants are more attracted to organizations that advertise identityconscious staffing policies and affirmative action plans emphasizing a commitment to equal opportunity, access to training, and a commitment to recruiting Black applicants ( Slaughter, Sinar, & Bachiochi, 2002). Furthermore, female applicants respond more favorably to ads emphasizing EEO as opposed to affirmative action or diversity management (McNab & Johnston, 2002; Moechnig & Ratz, 2001). Broadly speaking, these findings suggest that promoting policies of equal opportunity enhances female and minority applicants' perceptions of organizations. ...
... Of particular importance is the statement on human resource policies geared toward inclusiveness. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between such statements and applicant reactions (Barber & Roehling, 1993; Brown, Cober, Keeping, & Levy, 2002; McNab & Johnston, 2002; Moechnig & Ratz, 2001; Slaughter et al., 2002; K. M. Thomas & Wise, 1999; Williams & Bauer, 1994). These studies have focused on the impact of three types of human resource management statements in recruitment advertisements: affirmative action plans (AAP), diversity management programs (DMP), and equal employment opportunity (EEO). ...
On account of a number of factors, many companies have increased recruitment targeting female and ethnic or racial minority job applicants. Despite evidence suggesting that these applicants are attracted by different factors than traditional applicants and an abundance of recruitment tactics suggested in the popular press, no empirically based approach to recruiting these populations has emerged. This article reviews and integrates literature on organizational impression management, recruitment, marketing, and social psychology and provides a framework to assist practitioners in attracting minority and female job applicants. In addition, several avenues for future research are discussed.
... However, separate work has found that members of high-status or majority groups can feel threatened by signs of increased diversity, as white people implicitly and explicitly associate the concept of multiculturalism with that of exclusion (versus inclusion) 58 . In the job-seeking context, past studies have found that white participants applying for a hypothetical job reported more concerns about receiving unfair treatment or less organizational attractiveness when the organization mentioned a commitment to diversity 59,60 , results that align with more https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01731-5 general findings of greater threat experienced by white people shown information about increased racial diversity in the US population 61,62 . ...
... Again, when ignoring the no diversity condition, white men were more likely to apply to organizations with more than less diversity. Prior experimental and correlational data have found that white men were either unaffected or threatened by organizations with more racial or gender diversity 25,46,[57][58][59][60][61][62]66 , though one recent series of studies produced a conflicting pattern; specifically, presenting white American participants with organizations advocating for multiculturalism over colour blindness increased perceptions of the organization's commitment to diversity but had no impact on feelings of social identity threat or feelings of inclusion 67 . These latter results also align with national survey data showing that white Americans have become increasingly supportive of diversity efforts in the past decade 67 . ...
Increasing workplace diversity is a common goal. Given research showing that minority applicants anticipate better treatment in diverse workplaces, we ran a field experiment (N = 1,585 applicants, N = 31,928 website visitors) exploring how subtle organizational diversity cues affected applicant behaviour. Potential applicants viewed a company with varying levels of racial/ethnic or gender diversity. There was little evidence that racial/ethnic or gender diversity impacted the demographic composition or quality of the applicant pool. However, fewer applications were submitted to organizations with one form of diversity (that is, racial/ethnic or gender diversity), and more applications were submitted to organizations with only white men employees or employees diverse in race/ethnicity and gender. Finally, exploratory analyses found that female applicants were rated as more qualified than male applicants. Presenting a more diverse workforce does not guarantee more minority applicants, and organizations seeking to recruit minority applicants may need stronger displays of commitments to diversity.
... Diversity recruitment occurs through a series of targeted efforts to render organizations more attractive to specific groups of people (McKay & Avery, 2005). For example, many studies reported that minority participants found that organizations whose recruitment materials contained diversity statements were more attractive than the organizations with materials that had no information about diversity statements (McNab & Johnston, 2002; Perkins, Thomas, recruitment materials also contributed to making organizations more attractive to nonminority women (Rau & Hyland, 2003; William & Bauer, 1994) but had no impact for non-minority males (Williams & Bauer, 1994). Given that most corporations tend to have relatively low percentages of racial diversity in their workforce (Mor Barak et al., 1998; Olsen & Martins, 2012; Thomas, 1991), diversity recruitment enables greater workforce diversity by making organizations more attractive to larger groups of minorities and women. ...
... strengthen internal ethics primarily through the modeling of established and fair recruitment processes. For example, there is a long-standing requirement that job advertisements contain targeted equal opportunity statements designed to open the doors to all qualified candidates, and most importantly, that managers and recruiters follow and document transparent systemic procedures when recruiting new employees into the organization (McNab & Johnston, 2002). The equal opportunity legal requirements derived from the premise that absent discrimination, whether intentional or unconscious, a workplace would look like the general population from which it recruits (Affirmative Action Programs, 1978; U.S. Department of Labor, 1967). ...
Little is known about the relationship between workplace diversity and corporate ethics even though these two initiatives share similar ethical roots (Alder & Gilbert, 2006), and are quite popular in corporate America (Kochan, Bezrukova, Ely, Jackson, Joshi, Jehn, Leonard, Levine, & Thomas, 2003; Murphy, 2001). This study seeks to contribute to knowledge in these two areas by assessing whether diversity’s contributions to firm performance are maximized through its effects on the firm’s ethical processes. Using data that were collected on a sample of Fortune 500 firms, this study tested several hypotheses with predictor variables that represent two manifestations of diversity in corporate America: diversity management and the diversity of the boards of directors. Mediated hierarchical regression results from this study show that some aspects of a firm’s ethical practices help explain the relationship between diversity management and firm performance. In addition, I find a positive relationship between board of directors’ racial diversity and diversity management, which reinforces the importance of board of directors’ composition in directing strategic initiatives. The study also provides support for the social cognitive theory’s premise that prior experiences affect the learning and modeling of new norms (Bandura, 1969; 1998).
... This signaling effect is important, as it affects critical human resource functions such as applicant attraction (e.g., Rynes & Boudreau, 1986;Thorsteinson & Highhouse, 2003). However, there has been little research investigating how signals about an organization's diversity management affect potential employees (e.g., McNab & Johnston, 2002). This is particularly true for gender diversity (Freeman, 2003; K. M. Thomas & Wise, 1999). 1 Thus, in this study we examined how signals about gender diversity management affect perceptions of organizational attractiveness among both women and men. ...
... Researchers have proposed that a greater organizational emphasis on gender diversity management programs will have a positive effect on organizational attractiveness among women, as women are the intended beneficiaries of the programs (e.g., Konrad & Hartmann, 2001;Kravitz & Platania, 1993; K. M. Thomas & Wise, 1999;Tougas & Beaton, 1992). The effect is expected to be negative among men, who are the "nonbeneficiaries" (e.g., Truxillo & Bauer, 2000, p. 1816 of such programs and, as such, may perceive them as harming their self-interests (e.g., Konrad & Hartmann, 2001;McNab & Johnston, 2002;Williams & Bauer, 1994). ...
In this study, the authors examined how individual gender-related attitudes and beliefs affect the reactions of men and women to gender diversity management programs in organizations. They found that whereas there were no significant between-sex differences in the effects of gender diversity management on organizational attractiveness, there were strong within-sex differences based on individual attitudes and beliefs. Specifically, within the sexes, centrality of one's gender identity, attitudes toward affirmative action for women, and the belief that women are discriminated against in the workplace moderated the effects of gender diversity management on organizational attractiveness. The findings, combined with prior research, suggest that it is critical for organizations to incorporate efforts to manage perceptions of gender diversity management programs into their diversity management strategies.
... However, it is important to highlight that there was variability in how the EOE statements were phrased, ranging from a simple phrase (e.g., "[Name of company] is an Equal Opportunity Employer") to a full paragraph listing the protected groups to whom the company commits to nondiscrimination and harassment. The evidence to date on the impact of EO statements is limited (Flory et al., 2019), but at least one previous study reported that participants rated the attractiveness of a company higher when a job advertisement included an extensive EOE statement compared to no statement or a minimal statement (McNab & Johnston, 2002). In considering implementing an EOE statement in job postings, it need not be lengthy. ...
There has been increased interest and attention to the need for equity, diversity, and inclusion, in the field of applied behavior analysis in recent years. Several publications have focused on these topics and educational curricula and professional development opportunities have been developed. One aspect that has received less attention is how companies providing behavior analytic services can help to promote and sustain a diverse workforce. The purpose of this article is to provide examples and recommendations for how these overarching goals can be addressed. The examples and recommendations are described in the context of a small company that has made important strides in addressing this topic through its mission to serve members of marginalized communities.
... These standardized statements appear perfunctory and, often this leads applicants to doubt the veracity of the employer's commitment to diversity. In a New Zealand study, McNab and Johnston (2002) explored gender differences in the rating of an organization's attractiveness based on three types of EEO statement provided in a job advertisement: 1) no EEO statement, 2) minimal EEO statement, and 3) extensive EEO statement. The study found that women rated organizations with extensive EEO statements more favorably, while men rated organizations with minimal EEO statements more favorable. ...
Diversity statements signal an organization’s culture, values, and commitment to diversity and inclusion. Yet, diversity statements are often perceived as somewhat superficial “boilerplate” or basic statements created to comply with employment equity requirements, especially in job advertisements. With the objectives of understanding the presence of diversity statements in job advertisements, differences between types of libraries, and the types of diversity statements and messages contained in these statements, this study analyzed the diversity statements of 50 online job advertisements for Canadian academic librarian and archivist positions. Four types of diversity statements were identified from this study: Type 1) boilerplate; Type 2) employment equity; Type 3) diversity; and Type 4) expanded diversity management. Findings suggest most Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions in Canada have expanded diversity management statements. Other findings around land acknowledgements, gender identity, and sexual orientation and others are discussed. Recommendations for further studies are included.
... Past research has shown that affirmative action programs for women can increase women's perceived fit with jobs. Positive effects of (weak) policies were reported within the paradigm of hiring simulations (McNab & Johnston, 2002). Women's attraction to a fictitious organization was highest when the companies' efforts for equal opportunities were emphasized and when women were actively encouraged to apply. ...
... In a world of asymmetric information, the job advertisement may signal something about how an organization's attributes fit with one's identity and values, but it may also signal something about the necessary skills required to succeed at the job (person-job fit), making it more attractive to individuals with that skill set (Gaucher et al. 2011). Indeed, a recent burgeoning literature suggests that even small changes to job advertisements can affect how people view an organization (Feldman et al. 2006;McNab and Johnston 2002), how they perceive their levels of belonging in an organization (Gaucher et al. 2011), and who ultimately chooses to apply (Ashraf et al. 2015). ...
There is a human capital crisis looming in the public sector as fewer and fewer people show interest in government jobs. At the same time, many public sector organizations struggle with increasing the diversity of their workforce. Although many institutional forces contribute to the challenge, part of the solution is in how government recruits. This study presents the results of a field experiment aimed at attracting more and different people to apply to a police force by varying job advertisements in a postcard. The results suggest that focusing on public service motivation (PSM) messages is ineffective at attracting candidates that would not have applied anyway. Rather, messages that focus on the personal benefits of applying to the job-either emphasizing the challenge of the job or the career benefits-are three times as effective at getting individuals to apply as the control, without an observable loss in applicant quality. These messages are particularly effective for people of color and women, thereby supporting a key policy goal of the police to increase diversity of applicants.
... Two targeted recruitment strategies that seem to fit with women's social identity are the portrayal of gender diversity and the inclusion of equal employment opportunity statements in job ads (Avery and McKay 2006). For instance, picturing a woman and a man compared to only a man (Bosak and Sczesny 2008), as well as using extensive rather than minimal equal employment statements (McNab and Johnston 2002), positively affect women's perceived job suitability and organizational attraction (see also Windsheid et al. 2016). ...
Qualification-based targeted recruitment strategies aim to increase the number of qualified applicants from certain social groups, such as women. Typically, such strategies assume that individuals are more likely to apply for a job when they possess the requirements needed for that job. However, how job seekers react to requirements in job ads is not often considered and is explored in the present study. In two experimental studies with Belgian university students we investigated whether person requirements about which women have negative meta-stereotypes (like the trait of emotionality) and the way such requirements are formulated in job ads (i.e., using trait-like adjectives, “You are calm/not nervous,” or behavior-like verbs, “You remain calm in stressful situations”) affected women’s job attraction and decision to apply. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that job attraction was lower if women held negative meta-stereotypes about required personality traits in job ads (Study 1; 218 women; M age = 23.44 years, range = 21–42; 97% ethnic majorities). Moreover, qualified women applied to a lesser extent if a negatively meta-stereotyped trait was worded in a trait-like way than when it was worded in a behavior-like way (Study 2; n = 183; M age = 23.68 years, range = 21–44; 58% women; 97% ethnic majorities). A practical implication is that recruiters should be sensitive to how they formulate job ads if they wish to attract a highly qualified and gender-diverse applicant pool.
... It has provided mixed results. For example, equal employment opportunity statements in recruitment ads increase employer attractiveness for female job seekers but statements regarding diversity management or affirmative action do not (Williams and Bauer 1994;McNab and Johnston 2002). Avery et al. (see, e.g., 2013) conclude that it remains unclear whether and how diversity cues attract or dissuade job seekers. ...
We investigate whether female executives influence perceived employer attractiveness for female job seekers. Drawing on signaling theory, we argue that female members in top management may signal organizational justice and organizational support and may therefore enhance perceived employer attractiveness. Findings from a scenario experiment with 357 participants indicate that female job seekers are more attracted to an organization with a female executive holding a non-stereotypical office [such as Chief Financial Officer (CFO)] as compared to an organization with an all-male top management. Results of a structural equation model show that perceived organizational justice mediates the positive effect of a female holding a non-stereotypical office (CFO) on perceived employer attractiveness, but perceived organizational support does not. Our results challenge the widely held view that women in top management will generally help attract female job seekers; rather, they suggest that a single female executive holding a stereotypical female office (such as Chief Human Resources Officer) even reduces perceived employer attractiveness.
... The consequences of different policies in the workplace for organisational dynamics have been widely explored by social psychological research (for recent reviews, see Apfelbaum, Phillips, & Richeson, 2014;Eagly, 2016;Ellemers, 2014;Galinsky et al., 2015;Paluck, 2006;Paluck & Green, 2009 of minority members applying to vacancies in organisations with explicit commitment to equality and diversity (McNab & Johnston, 2002), recent research raises concern that the existence of diversity policies might in fact increase blindness to actual instances of discrimination (Kirby, Kaiser, & Major, 2015). More research is needed to understand how this negative effect can be counteracted. ...
Demographic trends reveal that modern societies have become increasingly diverse. Within the social sciences, these changes have been reflected in concerns about the implications of social diversity. Whilst early research noted that diversity may have negative consequences for societies and individuals, more recent scholarship has indicated that diversity is not always translated into negative outcomes. These inconsistent findings initiated a scholarly debate concerning the impact of many different forms of diversity for a host of social outcomes. It is now clear that the boundary conditions of these effects are yet to be fully understood. This Special Issue offers a collection of research advances identifying mediating and moderating variables addressing when and why diversity impacts intergroup relational outcomes. By focusing on different levels of diversity (i.e., in the society and in groups), this research also sheds light on the effectiveness of ideologies and policies for managing diversity.
... Past research has shown that affirmative action programs for women can increase women's perceived fit with jobs. Positive effects of (weak) policies were reported within the paradigm of hiring simulations (McNab & Johnston, 2002). Women's attraction to a fictitious organization was highest when the companies' efforts for equal opportunities were emphasized and when women were actively encouraged to apply. ...
This research investigates how affirmative action policies in job advertisements for leadership positions affect women’s and men’s inclination to apply. Management students (N=389) received advertisements which differed in the strictness of announced gender policies: No statement, women explicitly invited to apply, preferential treatment of equally qualified women, or quota of 40% women. When women were treated preferentially, female participants reported higher self-ascribed fit, which resulted in higher inclinations to apply compared to the control condition and to men. However, when quota regulations were active, female participants showed neither an increased self-ascribed fit nor higher inclinations to apply. Interestingly, the underlying mechanism was not different when a quota regulation or no statement was announced: Participants with higher agency levels reported higher inclinations to apply due to an increase in self-ascribed fit. This study provides evidence that only some preferential treatment policies may be successful in increasing women’s interest in leadership positions.
... A meta-analysis of attitudes toward diversity initiatives (Harrison et al. 2006) indicates that the gender of the person evaluating the initiative tends not to matter for identity blind initiatives but often does matter for identity conscious initiatives (e.g., Barber and Roehling 1993;Greening and Turban 2000;Konrad and Linnehan 1995;Kravitz and Platania 1993;McNab and Johnston 2002;Summers 1995;Williams and Bauer 1994). More specifically, men tend to have more negative reactions than women to identity conscious initiatives-despite the finding that some women are also concerned about negative personal outcomes such as lower job satisfaction, greater stress, or being perceived as incompetent (e.g., Harrison et al. 2006;Heilman et al. 1992;Gilbert and Stead 1999). ...
Women are underrepresented in the upper echelons of management in most countries. Despite the effectiveness of identity conscious initiatives for increasing the proportion of women, many organizations have been reluctant to implement such initiatives because potential employees may perceive them negatively. Given the increasing competition for labor, attracting talent is relevant for the long-term success of organizations. In this study, we used an experimental design (N = 693) to examine the effects of identity blind and identity conscious gender diversity initiatives on people’s pursuit intentions toward organizations using them. We used counterfactual thinking, derived from fairness theory, as a guiding framework for our hypothesis development and investigated the moderating influence of a forthcoming government-mandated gender quota as well as individual characteristics (e.g., gender). Participants reviewed statements regarding workplace diversity initiatives and rated either the initiatives’ effectiveness or indicated their intentions to pursue employment with organizations using them. Of those rating pursuit intentions, half were informed that the country in which they were conducting their job search was about to implement gender quotas. Results indicated a diversity management paradox such that initiatives perceived as more effective made organizations using them less attractive as employers. However, these negative perceptions were mitigated by a government-mandated quota, and also lower among women. Implications for the study and practice of diversity are discussed.
... It is common practice to establish equity norms for hiring new employees by stating nondiscrimination statutes. Despite their prevalence, experimental research has focused on their effects on job applicants [14], [15], including older applicants [16], rather than on employment decision-makers. We hypothesized that the presence of equity norms might not achieve their intended purpose to reduce discrimination. ...
Participants completed a questionnaire priming them to perceive themselves as either objective or biased, either before or after evaluating a young or old job applicant for a position linked to youthful stereotypes. Participants agreed that they were objective and tended to disagree that they were biased. Extending past research, both the objective and bias priming conditions led to an increase in age discrimination compared to the control condition. We also investigated whether equity norms reduced age discrimination, by manipulating the presence or absence of an equity statement reminding decision-makers of the legal prohibitions against discrimination "on the basis of age, disability, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, or sex." The presence of equity norms increased enthusiasm for both young and old applicants when participants were not already primed to think of themselves as objective, but did not reduce age-based hiring discrimination. Equity norms had no effect when individuals thought of themselves as objective - they preferred the younger more than the older job applicant. However, the presence of equity norms did affect individuals' perceptions of which factors were important to their hiring decisions, increasing the perceived importance of applicants' expertise and decreasing the perceived importance of the applicants' age. The results suggest that interventions that rely exclusively on decision-makers' intentions to behave equitably may be ineffective.
... In the past, researchers have applied these findings in the context of diversity management and affirmative action programs. For example, the impact of inclusion of equal employment opportunity statements in job advertisements has been examined as a predictor of organizational attractiveness (McNab & Johnston, 2002) and the willingness to apply for a job (Bem & Bem, 1974;Brown, Cober, Keeping & Levy, 2006). ...
Students' inclination to apply for a job was examined as a function of (1) the wording of the desired candidate's profile specified in the employment advertisement and (2) applicant gender. Previous research found that women are more inclined than men to apply for jobs that include a profile corresponding to their gender (i.e., a profile containing prototypically feminine instead of masculine personal characteristics). Based on Fiedler and Semin's (1996) Linguistic Category Model, we expected that this effect would decrease if the desired profile was worded in terms of behaviors/verbs instead of nouns/ adjectives. ANOVA supported this reasoning for women but not for men. We conclude that organizations may increase the number of women applying for particular jobs by changing the presentation form of the advertisement.
To attract and retain a more diverse workforce, organizations embrace diversity initiatives, expressed in diversity statements on their websites. While the explicit content of diversity statements influences attitudes towards organizations, much less is known about the effect of subtle cues such as emotions. In three pre‐registered studies, we tested the effect of positive emotionality in diversity statements on attitudes towards organizations. Study 1 focused on the degree to which 600 European organizations employed emotionality in their diversity statements, finding that although their statements differed in the level of emotionality, on average, organizations avoided highly emotional words. Study 2 ( N = 220 UK participants) tested the effect of original diversity statements on readers' attitudes towards an organization, demonstrating that the level of emotionality in the existing statements did not influence positive attitudes towards the organization. In Study 3 ( N = 815 UK participants), we thus modified the diversity statements so that they contained high levels of positive emotionality that triggered more positive emotions and resulted in more positive attitudes towards an organization. Taken together, highly emotional words (e.g. passionate; happy; wholeheartedly) are key in diversity statements if organizations wish to increase their attractiveness among potential employees.
In German academia, there is still no gender equality. The number of females in academic positions decreases as career paths proceed. This study focuses on a partial aspect of possible reasons for this imbalance: the influence on potential applicants through job advertisements published by universities to recruit suitable academics. For this purpose, documentary research on job advertisements are conducted with respect to a variety of characteristics. By recording the status quo, recommendations for actions are given in order to address women and men equally with job advertisements.
Many academic institutions have looked at various ways to make their faculty a more diverse and inclusive group of people that better reflect the demographic swath of their current and future student bodies. This is even more so important in chemistry departments, where there has long been a discussion on the "leaky pipeline"for women and underrepresented groups. The work presented here examines programs and policies at various departments aimed at increasing the diversity of their faculty applicant pool, and compares them against the reception of the general scientific community by way of applicant demographics and the use of a survey instrument designed to ascertain the advertisement language that lends to a more diverse applicant pool. The combination of these results is then used to generate a list of best practices that administrations and academic search committees can use to improve their ability to attract diverse talent. © 2021 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
This article contributes to the research on inequality in organisations by analysing job advertisements that include a diversity clause stating that minority or disadvantaged jobseekers are welcome. The diversity clause appears as a response to expectations from the organisations’ environment, namely anti-discrimination regulations and activation policies that aim to persuade employers to counteract inequality and include minorities and marginalised groups. With disability as a case, the analysis demonstrates how the mundane organisational practice of advertising for new employees fails to avoid reproducing the inequality that it aspires to reduce. A predominant distinction in the advertisement texts between desired employees and disabled applicants (addressed in the diversity clause) shows how organisations, while acting properly and performing the benevolent practice of championing diversity, can still subtly signal the inferiority of disability.
Introduction
Training programs are now more than ever seeking ways to promote recruitment and retention of a diverse resident workforce. The goal of this study was to examine how gender and ethnic identities affect applicant attraction to surgery training programs.
Methods
Applicants to general surgery residency in 2018 to 2019 completed a 31-item assessment measuring preferences for training program characteristics and attributes. Differences in preferences across candidate gender and ethnicity were investigated. Factor analyses and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to explore these differences.
Results
1491 unique applicants to 7 residency programs completed the assessment, representing 67% of all applicants to general surgery during the 2018 to 2019 season. Women preferred training programs that had high levels of social support (p < 0.001), were less traditional (p < 0.001), and with less turbulence (p < 0.05). Non-white candidates reported greater preference for programs with higher levels of established academics (p < 0.001), clinical experiences (p < 0.001), social support (p < 0.05), traditionalism (p < 0.001), flexibility (p < 0.001), and innovation (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Organizational efforts to attract and retain a diverse workforce may benefit from considering the aspects of work that align with female and underrepresented minority preferences.
The purpose of this article is to evaluate the language content of job postings as a potential explanation for the gender imbalance in the finance industry. We conduct two interlinked studies of internship job postings by finance companies that assess the use and effects of agentic (e.g., ambitious) versus communal (e.g., caring) language. We find high levels of agentic language within finance job postings, and our results reveal that women applicants are more likely to perceive a higher level of fit with the position and exhibit an interest in applying to internship postings that are high in communal language and low in agentic language suggesting a current mismatch between our findings and current practice. We discuss the theoretical implications associated with the wording of internship job postings as well as implications for finance recruiters looking to increase the gender diversity of their workforce.
Women are substantially underrepresented in senior and leadership positions in medicine and experience gendered challenges in their work settings. This systematic review aimed to synthesise research that has evaluated interventions for improving gender equity in medicine. English language electronic searches were conducted across MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Reference list screening was also undertaken. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and March 2020 that evaluated interventions to improve gender equity, or the experiences of women, in academic or clinical medicine were reviewed. Dual reviewer data extraction on setting, participants, type of intervention, measurement and outcomes was completed. Methodological rigour and strength of findings were evaluated. In total, 34 studies were included. Interventions were typically focused on equipping the woman (82.4%), that is, delivering professional development activities for women. Fewer focused on changing cultures (20.6%), ensuring equal opportunities (23.5%) or increasing the visibility or valuing of women (23.5%). Outcomes were largely positive (87.3%) but measurement typically relied on subjective, self-report data (69.1%). Few interventions were implemented in clinical settings (17.6%). Weak methodological rigour and a low strength of findings was observed. There has been a focus to-date on interventions which Equip the Woman . Interventions addressing systems and culture change require further research consideration. However, institutions cannot wait on high quality research evidence to emerge to take action on gender equity. Data collated suggest a number of recommendations pertaining to research on, and the implementation of, interventions to improve gender equity in academic and clinical settings.
Employer attractiveness is defined as the (envisioned) benefits of working for a specific employer (Berthon, Ewing & Hah, 2005). The article deals with the development and validation of a questionnaire to measure employer attractiveness (AGA-I) using a sample of 3 000 working adults. Consistent with expectations, in a factor analysis 19 dimensions of employer attractiveness were identified that had already been found in a comprehensive qualitative study. Internal consistency of the questionnaire is very high (Cronbach’s α = .98). Due to its module-based structure, the subscales of the questionnaire can be used separately. Construct and criterion validation using items to measure general employer attractiveness (Turban & Keon, 1993) revealed without exception significant correlations with the subscales of the AGA-I. The instrument can be applied in research and practice, such as recruiting processes, developing an employer brand, management of employer image and organizational identity.
Belegschaften in deutschen Unternehmen werden deutlich vielfältiger, was Alter, Geschlecht und kulturellen Hintergrund angeht, mit Folgen für die Arbeitswelt, die wir bislang nur unvollständig absehen können. Die Politik mit dem Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetz und internationale Investoren haben zudem dafür gesorgt, dass viele größere Unternehmen ein formales Diversity Management betreiben.
Arbeitgeberattraktivität messen
Christian Rietz, Daniela Lohaus & Susanne Kling
Im aktuellen „Kampf um Talente“ intensivieren Unternehmen ihre Aktivitäten zum Aufbau einer Arbeitgebermarke. Dabei wird eine von der Zielgruppe wahrgenommene hohe Arbeitgeberattraktivität als Voraussetzung für einen hohen Markenwert gesehen. Notwendig dafür ist die Messung der Arbeitgeberattraktivität. Zur Messung des Konstruktes „Arbeitgeberattraktivität“ wird die Employer Attractiveness Scale von Berthon, Ewing und Hah (2005) in den deutschen Sprachraum übertragen und testtheoretisch überprüft. Es zeigt sich, dass die Messung der Arbeitgeberattraktivität mit konzeptuellen Problemen verbunden ist, die einer direkten Übertragbarkeit im Weg stehen. Daher werden abschließend Möglichkeiten diskutiert, das Konstrukt Arbeitgeberattraktivität weitergehend zu operationalisieren.
Schlüsselwörter: Arbeitgebermarkenbildung, Messung von Arbeitgeberattraktivität, testtheoretische Überprüfung, Validität
Measurement of employer attractiveness
In the prevailing “war for talents” organizations intensify their efforts to build a strong employer brand. In order to achieve a high brand value, organizations need to be perceived as “employer of choice” by their target group. For this, a valid measurement of employer attractiveness is required. In the current study the employer attractiveness scale (EAS) by Berthon, Ewing and Hah (2005) was adapted to the German language area, then tested according to test theory standards and validated. Results indicate that the five-factor structure of the original scale could not be replicated and that the two scales measure different constructs. Possibilities for a broader operationalization of the construct employer attractiveness are discussed.
Keywords: employer branding, measurement of employer attractiveness, test theoretical evaluation, validity
Based on a review of employment practice literature, social work has not addressed the interviewing process in faculty hiring. Recently, the demand for social work educators has drawn many social work educators to respond to faculty searches. This study focuses on how the legal questions used in the United States for interviewing faculty candidates can be expanded in developing strategies in faculty interviews within certain culturally sensitive parameters. Based on 19 areas of interview questions from the standard legal perspective found in the literature, both culturally and ethnically sensitive and insensitive questions are suggested to be included as an interview guide. After analyzing the items in this newly developed interview guide, the reader can assess the appropriateness of the questions to each candidate, so that hiring of faculty is done fairly and ethically in the hiring process.
Job seekers are increasingly turning to the Internet. Government Web sites not only provide information about employment opportunities but also convey messages, whether intentional or not, about values and priorities that affect individuals' perceptions of the attractiveness of the state as an employer. This study replicates private sector–based research by examining the diversity messages reflected in text and visual imagery on 50 state government Web sites. Overall, in contrast with private companies, a majority of states do not demonstrate a clear commitment to diversity on their Web sites. Rather, the states place greater emphasis on customer service and efficiency. Given the increased importance of the Internet as a recruitment tool, findings suggest the need for greater attention to the diversity messages conveyed by state government Web sites. The article concludes with some practical recommendations for more effective use of this medium to advance diversity-related recruitment goals and suggestions for future research.
In the present special issue new theoretical and empirical insights on applicant perceptions of selection procedures are provided. In this introductory editorial we address four primary goals. First, we introduce the reader to the topic of applicant perceptions and highlight key theoretical perspectives and past empirical findings. Second, we review the state of the literature and argue that research on applicant reactions has been prospering in the last two decades. Third, we summarize the six papers that have been assembled in this special issue and that are reviewed in the final paper as a discussants' commentary. We close with acknowledging and thanking all of those who have contributed to the publication of this special issue.
This study aims to investigate the effect of race composition of organizational representatives on perceived similarity, organizational
attractiveness, and perceived opportunities for advancement. Two hundred and twenty four Malaysian Chinese university students
participated in the study. The findings showed that race composition was significantly related to the participant’s perception
of similarity to the representatives, attraction to the organization, and perception of advancement opportunities in the organization.
Minority Chinese participants gave higher ratings on all three outcome variables when they were presented with an organization
featuring a homogenous group of Chinese representatives or a racially diverse group of representatives, than an organization
featuring a homogenous group of Malay representatives in recruitment advertising. In summary, the inclusion of minority representatives
in recruitment advertising is beneficial in attracting minority applicants.
KeywordsWorkforce diversity–Workplace representation of diverse groups–Applicant attraction–Race/ethnicity
Replies to the comment by I. J. Miller (see record 1998-11734-019) regarding J. S. Fraser's article (see record 1996-00461-003) examining medical offset effects in marketing managed behavioral care services. Fraser responds to each criticism in turn, makes corrections where necessary, and re-examines points made in the original article.
Drawing on propositions from social identity theory and signaling theory, we hypothesized that firms' corporate social performance (CSP) is related positively to their reputations and to their attractiveness as employers. Results indicate that independent ratings of CSP are related to firms' reputations and attractiveness as employers, suggesting that a firm's CSP may provide a competitive advantage in attracting applicants. Such results add to the growing literature suggesting that CSP map provide firms with competitive advantages.
An experimental design was employed to assess the impact of a managing diversity policy on participants' ratings of organizational attractiveness. Four hundred forty-eight upper level undergraduate management students were randomly assigned to either a g diversity or a control condition. Subjects were asked to read one of two forms of a recruitment brochure describing a fictitious company and then to rate the attractiveness of the company. As hypothesized, participants in the managing diversity condition rated the organization significantly more positively than did those in the control condition. There were also significant main effects for race and gender that accounted for more variance in the ratings of organizational attractiveness than did the managing diversity manipulation. Non-Whites and women had higher mean organizational attractiveness ratings than Whites and men, respectively. Managerial implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.
Aspects of corporate image, or the image associated with the name of an organization, and recruitment image-the image associated with its recruitment message-were studied. Data collected from five student groups indicate that the image of an organization is related to the information available about it. Additional results are that different external groups only moderately agree on ratings of corporate image, potential applicants have different corporate and recruitment images of the same organizations, and corporate image and recruitment image are significant predictors of initial decisions about pursuing contact with organizations.
The realistic job preview (RJP) literature has focused more on posthire outcomes such as employee retention than on prehire outcomes such as applicant attraction and job choice behavior. This study extends the RJP literature by focusing on 2 important issues related to applicant attraction: (a) the weight applicants place on negative information in relation to other variables such as pay level and promotional opportunity and (b) whether the "best" applicants react differently to negative information than do other applicants (adverse self-selection). Results indicate that applicants place a fairly high negative weight on negative job information, relative to other vacancy characteristics. The results regarding adverse self-selection are less clear but suggest that the highest quality applicants may be less willing to pursue jobs for which negative information has been presented, especially when doing so imposes opportunity costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study tested predictions from B. Schneider's (1987) attraction–selection–attrition (ASA) model across 5 organizations (
n = 681). Organization membership and occupational attributes interacted with individuals' turnover intentions to predict several personality variables. Relationships among organization membership, occupation type, and personality were partially mediated by perceived structure. The 3-way interaction analyses indicated that occupation type may compensate for the effects of organizational characteristics in making particular traits more suitable for a given organization. The overall pattern of findings supports the more general ASA predictions, but the findings also suggest a need to develop a more refined conceptualization of the trait homogenization process. The authors also discuss what trait homogenization processes may imply about interpreting findings in organizational behavior research in general and better understanding organizational diversity, culture, and organizations' capabilities in responding to change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Replies to the comment by I. J. Miller (see record
1998-11734-019) regarding J. S. Fraser's article (see record
1996-00461-003) examining medical offset effects in marketing managed behavioral care services. Fraser responds to each criticism in turn, makes corrections where necessary, and re-examines points made in the original article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the process of deciding whether or not to apply for jobs, using the verbal protocol analysis (VPA) technique. Verbal reports provided by participants as they evaluated job postings and decided whether or not to interview for jobs were analyzed to assess what information was heeded, the impact of incomplete or unusual information, and the role of inferences regarding job characteristics and probability of hire. Results indicated that location and compensation received the most attention and that participants also responded to the amount of information provided. In addition, participants made inferences about unobserved characteristics and probability of hire, although the latter played little role in the decision to interview. The study also provided support for the usefulness of VPA by demonstrating that neither the verbal protocol process nor the use of prompts significantly influenced participants' decisions (as compared with the decisions of control groups). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Developing labor shortages are expected to increase the importance of applicant attraction into the next century. Unfonunately, previous research has provided little in the way of unified theory or operational guidelines for organizations confronted with attraction difficulties. In part, this is because much research has been framed from the applicant's, rather than the organization's, perspective. In addition, attraction-related theories and research are scattered across a variety of literatures, and often identified primarily with topics other than attraction per se (e.g., wage, motivation, or discrimination theories).The present paper draws on multiple literatures to develop a model of applicant attraction from the organization's perspective. In it, we (1) outline three general strategies for enhancing applicant attraction, (2) propose broad categories of contingency factors expected to affect the choice (and potential effectiveness) of alternative strategies, (3) suggest probable interrelationships among the strategies, (4) link applicant attraction strategies to other human resource practices, (5) outline various dimensions of attraction outcomes (e.g. qualitative and quantitative, attitudinal and behavioral, temporal), and (6) discuss implications for future attraction research.
[Excerpt] "Technology in employee selection is more highly developed than in recruiting or placement; therefore, the major emphasis is on selection Recruiting or placement are not less important processes; to the contrary, they probably are more vital and more profitable to the organization. An organization's success in recruiting defines the applicant population with which it will work; selection is more pleasant, if not easier, when any restriction of range or skewness of distribution is attributable to an overabundance of well-qualified applicants... Unfortunately,the contributions and confusions of the literature, the central social pressures, and the facts of contemporary practice conspire to place the emphasis on selection" (pp. 777- 779)
A great many decision about human resource management will need to be made during the 1990s in New Zealand, as new options and choices are considered. For that decision-making to be effective, it is important to be aware of the context in which those decisions will be made. This article first reviews the history and current status of the specialist HR profession in New Zealand. Then it describes New Zealand HR practices. The description is based on the results of a survey, at the establishment level, of all medium-sized and large New Zealand organizations. The article concludes by posing several key questions regarding the future of HRM
The theory, research, and practice of Human Resource Management (HRM) has evolved considerably over the past century, and experienced a major transformation in form and function primarily within the past two decades. Driven by a number of significant internal and external environmental forces, HRM has progressed from a largely maintenance function, with little if any bottom line impact, to what many scholars and practitioners today regard as the source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations operating in a global economy. In this 25th anniversary Yearly Review issue, we conduct a less comprehensive and more focused review of the field of HRM. In doing so, we attempt to articulate some key concepts and issues that can be productively integrated with HRM to provide some interesting and important directions for future work, and consider ways to bridge the gap between the science and practice of HRM.
This study's premise is that firms that can lower their costs and enhance their differentiation through the effective management of their human resources have a competitive advantage. Using data from 1986 through 1992, we examined the impact that announcements of U.S. Department of Labor awards for exemplary affirmative action programs had upon the stock returns of winning corporations and the effect that announcements of damage awards from the settlement of discrimination lawsuits had on the stock returns of corporations. The results suggest that announcements of awards may be associated with competitive advantage and that discrimination-related announcements may be associated with inability to achieve such advantage.
This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to examine the possible impact of (1) the corporate image of the advertiser and (2) the degree of specificity of the candidate qualifications, on the likelihood of reader response to a recruitment advertisement. The data indicated that the corporate image of the advertiser significantly influenced the likelihood of reader response, whereas the degree of specificity of the candidate qualifications did not significantly influence the likelihood of reader response to recruitment advertisement. The implications of the findings are discussed and avenues for further study are suggested.
Growing diversity, increasing multinationalism, and a need to better understand minority consumers make recruiting minority professionals to the workplace exceedingly important. This study examines the influences of a frequently used tool in organizational recruitment, the recruitment advertisement. Specifically, this research examines the influence of the racial composition of employees portrayed in these advertisements on a diverse sample of job-seeker reactions. Ss were 205 White and Black college students (mean age 20 yrs). These reactions include perceptions of organizational attractiveness, perceived compatibility to the organization, and evaluations of organizational image. In addition, it was expected that the race of the perceiver, the job seeker, would moderate these relationships. Mixed support for the hypotheses was found. Implications for advertising, marketing, and recruitment research given emerging domestic diversity are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Student members of a national organization of African American engineers (n= 1019) and currently employed African American engineers (n= 303) responded to a hypothetical job advertisement differing by staffing policy (identity-blind vs. identity-conscious), advertised work characteristics (i.e., individual-based vs. team-based), and compensation system characteristics (pay based on individual performance vs. pay based on work-group performance). Both groups of respondents reported being more likely to apply when the staffing policy was identity conscious (i.e., affirmative action) than when it was identity blind (i.e., equal-employment opportunity). However, only the student sample reported being more likely to apply when the advertisement described team-based work instead of individual-based work. Both groups reacted negatively to the combination of individual-based work and group-performance based pay systems.
Although women typically favor affirmative action, they do exhibit a range of reactions to affirmative action programs. To understand the diversity of reactions, the present study proposed an examination of various forms of affirmative action in the context of the discrimination problem such actions were designed to address. In Study 1, 60 female university students were presented with one of six scenarios describing a situation of discrimination against women, followed by a series of potential affirmative action response options which participants rated in terms of their level of endorsement. Analyses of variance showed that, despite the range of discrimination scenarios, some of which presented extreme cases of discrimination against women, respondents consistently endorsed nondiscrimination measures, and opposed affirmative action strategies involving preferential treatment. Study 2, which preselected 43 women who valued social equality, replicated this finding and found that these results were not due to women not perceiving the presence of collective discrimination. Study 3 examined the attitudes of women in a law and security police training stream (n = 19), whose vulnerability to employment discrimination, both as a group and personally, would be salient. The women in this study endorsed all forms of affirmative action, including explicit preferential treatment in the hiring of women police officers. The implications of these results for the consideration and implementation of affirmative action programs are discussed.
This study explores the attitudes of women and how their attitudes relate to diversity management practices. Specifically, we utilize organizational justice to examine women's attitudes toward the perceived fairness of outcomes and procedures in the context of managing diversity. We utilize Cox and Blake's (1991) marketing argument as a procedural justification for the need for diversity in the workplace. Our findings indicate that diversity programs that are not justified result in negative beneficiary attitudes, regardless of a positive outcome produced.
The relationship between recruitment advertisement variables and applicant response rate was investigated. Three hundred and fifty companies were surveyed about applicant responses to their classified advertisements. One hundred and thirty-three surveys were completed and sent back for a return rate of 38%. The results of this study indicate that advertisements which include variables to enhance the physical features of the advertisement: such as white space, size, border, and graphics—are positively related to the quantity of an applicant pool.
Recruiting is a critical staffing activity for organizations, but its impact on the job seeker is poorly understood. Much remains to be learned about individual differences in reactions to recruitment efforts. This paper discusses the results of a study of MBA candidates that examined (a) the relative importance of various job, organizational, diversity, and recruiter characteristics on assessments of organizational attractiveness, and (b) the extent to which these assessments differed when applicant race and gender are taken into account. Results confirmed that relative to organizational, diversity, and recruiter characteristics, job factors were reported as most important to organizational attraction. However, within the job, diversity, and recruiter characteristics categories interesting gender and/or race differences emerged. The implications of these differences for research and for practices are offered.
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