New research provides insights into how political and racial attitudes influence perceptions of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements in job applications. The findings, published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, provide evidence that white individuals and those with conservative political views tend to react negatively to DEI statements, with these reactions often tied to underlying anti-Black attitudes.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements in job applications typically ask applicants to describe how they would contribute to an organization’s DEI goals through their roles, highlighting their experiences, perspectives, and commitments to fostering diversity. The aim of DEI statements is to ensure that the workforce reflects a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. As these requests became more common, however, so did the scrutiny and backlash, especially from conservative circles.
“We became interested in this topic because requests for DEI statements have become increasingly common in academe, government, and industry, and as they have become more common, so, too, have negative reactions to this practice — particularly from conservative groups,” said study author Abigail M. Folberg, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“These reactions have important implications for businesses, who will need to make decisions about whether to retain, change, or do away with various diversity practices. It is, therefore, important to know who may object to these practices and why.”
The researchers conducted a series of three studies to explore reactions to DEI statement requests in job applications.
In the first study, the team recruited 259 participants, ensuring an equal representation of Black and White individuals. These participants were engaged in a two-wave online study where, initially, they provided self-assessments of their political conservatism and responded to items from the Symbolic Racism Scale.
The Symbolic Racism Scale is a psychological measurement tool designed to assess a form of racism that is more subtle and indirect than overt expressions of racial prejudice. For example, the scale measures the extent to which individuals believe that Black people have been given more than they deserve, are responsible for their lower economic status due to a lack of work ethic, and that Black people are to blame for creating much of the racial tension in society.
Subsequently, the participants were exposed to a hypothetical job advertisement. This advertisement either requested a DEI statement or focused on teamwork, with participants randomly assigned to one of these conditions. They were asked to evaluate the perceived fairness of the application process (perceived justice) and their interest in the job, aiming to capture their immediate reactions to the DEI statement request.
The second study expanded on the initial study by incorporating a rationale for the DEI or teamwork request within the job advertisement, exploring whether this additional context influenced perceptions. This study involved a larger sample of 554 participants, balanced between Black and White individuals. The researchers measured participants’ perceptions of justice, job interest, and perceived person-organization fit to assess the impact of providing a rationale on applicants’ reactions.
In the third study, the researchers sought to directly compare reactions to DEI statement requests against requests for statements about teamwork and conservative values. A total of 295 participants were randomly assigned to read one of three types of job advertisements requesting either a DEI statement, a teamwork statement, or a statement reflecting conservative “pro-family” values.
This study aimed to dissect whether negative reactions to DEI requests were specifically tied to DEI content or if they extended to any statement perceived as political. Participants again evaluated perceived justice, job interest, and person-organization fit in response to these different statement requests.
Across these studies, the researchers found that White and politically conservative individuals tended to react more negatively to DEI statement requests compared to requests focusing on teamwork or conservative values. Specifically, these individuals perceived DEI requests as less just and expressed less interest in the job opportunities.
Interestingly, providing a rationale for the DEI request did not significantly alter the negative perceptions among conservative respondents, suggesting that ideological opposition to DEI initiatives might be deeply ingrained.
Furthermore, conservative participants exhibited more positive reactions to job ads aligned with conservative values than to those emphasizing DEI, highlighting a preference for organizational values that mirror their own.
Perhaps most importantly, the researchers found that the negative perceptions of justice and job interest in response to DEI (versus teamwork) statements by politically conservative participants were closely linked with symbolic racism. This suggests that these adverse reactions cannot be fully explained by political ideology alone but are intertwined with underlying racist attitudes.
“We found that anti-Black racism underlies negative reactions to requests for DEI statements among people who identify as conservative,” Folberg told PsyPost. “This finding is important because if you read some conservative critiques of the practice, people’s criticisms of requests for DEI statements seem race neutral. They might complain that the practice is overly political or that it’s irrelevant to people’s jobs.”
“Our work suggests that those critiques may reflect other motives. Providing a job-related rationale did not impact conservatives’ negative reactions to requests for DEI statements. Further, conservatives positively reacted to a request for a pro-family values statement—a statement that might be perceived as similarly political but is more consistent with conservative values.”
“Moreover, across all studies, we found that conservatives’ negative reactions to DEI statements were not independent of anti-Black racism,” Folberg explained. “Thus, these seemingly race-neutral criticisms may mask racist attitudes.”
But the study, like all research, includes some caveats. The research primarily focused on Black and White individuals in the United States, leaving the reactions of other racial and ethnic groups unexplored. Additionally, the impact of DEI statement requests on actual job application behavior — whether such requests deter potential applicants in real-world scenarios — remains unclear, suggesting avenues for future research.
“We looked at one particular practice — requests for DEI statements — more work is needed that replicates these findings across a number of different DEI practices,” Folberg said. “In addition, participants were told that the organization was going to request a DEI statement. However, participants did not write an actual statement, nor did they receive feedback about whether they were hired. More work is needed that examines this in the context of a real job application.”
It is also important to note that while the studies identified a significant link between resistance to DEI statement requests and symbolic racism, this does not imply that all forms of opposition to DEI statements are indicative of racist attitudes.
“Our findings suggest that on average, more conservative people react negatively to requests for DEI statements and those reactions are not independent of anti-Black racism,” Folberg explained. “However, that does not mean that all people who identify conservative feel the same way about DEI statements or share the same motivations for criticizing them. There is always variability among group members.”
While DEI statements are designed to foster inclusivity and address inequalities, they can evoke varied and sometimes deeply polarized responses. This research illuminates the need for organizations to navigate these challenges carefully.
“Given the rhetoric coming from conservative politicians and conservative groups, attacks on DEI are likely to continue, so understanding the effects of those attacks on the types of programs organizations offer and their efficacy is important,” Folberg added. “In addition, some organizations are choosing to rename or shutter DEI programs. It’s important to understand how those choices impact employees from marginalized groups.”
The study, “Racism underlies seemingly race-neutral conservative criticisms of DEI statements among Black and White people in the United States,” was authored by Abigail M. Folberg, Laura Brooks Dueland, Matthew Swanson, Sarah Stepanek, Mikki Hebl, and Carey S. Ryan.
