Page 262 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

10. WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION
(Baldwin, 1999) and is larger for women (Baldwin, Zeager, & Flacco,
1999). This line of research clearly indicates that there is employment
discrimination (see Schall, 1998), however, it offers little explanation for
why this discrimination exists. 229
Another area of literature that examines the issue of disability and work
is that from the rehabilitation field. This body of work is extensive, but
does not tend to address discrimination directly. Rehabilitation research
typically examines personal factors that are likely to be related to em­
ployment outcomes (e.g., Butterworth & Staruch, 1994; Meuller, Wilgosh,
& Dennis, 1987); examines workplace factors associated with integration
(e.g., Gates, 1993); evaluates rehabilitation programs (e.g., Gatti, 1991); de­
velops rehabilitation practices, policies, and programs (e.g., Gates, Akabas,
& Oran-Sabia, 1998); and presents many small sample qualitative studies
of employee experiences at work (e.g., Chima, 1998; Crudden & McBroom,
1999; Duckett, 2000; Gillies, Knight, & Baglioni, 1998). The goal of this re­
search is to examine what can be done to better integrate persons with
disabilities into the workforce. However, this literature has been criticized
for ignoring problems associated with the negative attitudes of others and
the environment (Hahn, 1996). Thus, it offers little in guiding our under­
standing of discrimination against persons with disabilities. There is some
research in this area that directly addresses discrimination from a psycho­
logical perspective. This work is included in our discussion below.
Although labor statistics indicate that employment discrimination exists
against persons with disabilities, surveys of the public and of employers
(e.g., Callahan, 1994; B. Cooper, 1991; M. Cooper, 1995) generally report
more positive responses toward employing persons with disabilities, al­
though responses vary by industry (Diska & Rogers, 1996). For example, a
survey of the general public found that between 85% and 95% supported
the basic employment provisions of the ADA (Taylor, 1999). A survey of
over 1,200 private and public organizations (Bruyere, 2000) found that em­
ployer groups were responsive to disability issues in the workplace and
were attempting to make accommodations. Another line of research that
surveyed managers aimed to determine the effectiveness of different poli­
cies and employment procedures in affecting employees with disabilities
(e.g., Berkowitz & O'Leary, 2000). However, there has been very little of
this research done in a systematic fashion. Therefore, we do not know what
policies and procedures work, or if they do, why (Berkowitz & O'Leary,
2000).
However, these positive management findings should not be given too
much weight in assessing the extent of and mechanisms underlying disabil­
ity discrimination. First of all, this research is subjected to a great deal of so­
cial desirability bias (Stone, Stone, & Dipboye, 1992). It has been suggested