Page 349 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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Training
Reducing the Negative Effects Associated with Training The direct
relationship between training and development and adverse impact is
somewhat unclear (Delahoussaye, 2001; Morrison & Von Glinow, 1990).
However, if access or selection into training is based on performance ap­
praisals or tests, then the selection methods may result in adverse impact.
Thus, organizations should perform regular audits of access to training in
order to ensure that minorities do not face unfair barriers that limit their
participation in training programs.
The question of the adequacy of access to training programs is especially
complex when the protected group is older workers. In the United States,
employees over the age of 40 are protected from discrimination by the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (as amended in 1986). How­
ever, older workers often face situational, dispositional, and institutional
obstacles to their full participation in training programs (Sterns, Junkins,
& Bayer, 2001). Such obstacles can be overcome by educating managers
and also providing appropriate rewards to older workers participating in
training programs (Sterns & Doverspike, 1989; Sterns et al., 2001).

Altering the Behavior of Majority Croup Members Through Training
How can employers use training programs to alter the discriminatory be­
haviors of organizational members? The obvious answer is by directing
training programs toward changing attitudes and stereotypes and also by
designing training programs that replace discriminatory behaviors with
more effective behaviors. The associated training programs can be de­
signed to be either fairly narrow, as for example those programs aimed
at eliminating the use of stereotypes and similar-to-me effects in the em­
ployment interview, or broad, as best exemplified by diversity training. In
this section, we will look at one type of narrow training, sexual harassment
training, and the broad approach offered by general diversity training.
Sexual Harassment Training Sexual harassment training is a very spe­
cific type of training aimed at altering behavior. Sexual harassment training
is usually directed at either antecedents or outcomes (Fitzgerald, Hulin,
& Drasgow, 1995). Thus, antecedent-oriented training attempts to reduce
sexual harassment by changing the organizational climate, individual
attitudes, or job-sex stereotypes. Outcome-based training attempts to re­
duce the negative effects of sexual harassment (Barak, 1994). For example,
a training objective might be teaching women how to identify and respond
to sexual harassment, or training may offer coping strategies for victims of
sexual harassment.
Methods used in sexual harassment training include lectures, behav­
ior modeling, role plays, board games, group discussions, video-based