Page 93 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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Group-Level Explanations
of Workplace Discrimination

Kecia M. Thomas
University of Georgia

Donna Chrobot-Mason
University of Colorado at Denver

Companies evaluate potential employees' education and experiences in
order to make sound predictions regarding who will perform best in their
organization. Yet employees do not enter the organization with only their
knowledge, skill, ability, and experience. Employees, new and old, enter
organizations daily with a group or social identity and a personal identity.
Often our social identities motivate how others will respond to us both
inside and outside of the workplace. Differences in social identity predis­
pose us to be biased toward people similar to ourselves and biased against
those who we identify as being somehow different. This chapter focuses on
the salience of group identity, especially resulting from race, gender, and
sexuality, and how multiple group identities can create opportunities for
discrimination and conflict in the workplace. We also discuss the impact of
group representation on workgroup dynamics and outcomes and the con­
sequence of group identity on both individual and organizational behavior.
Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of avoiding group-based
discrimination in the workplace.

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