Affiliation:
1. Reichman University, Israel
2. Tel Aviv University, Israel
Abstract
Managerial bias is a major source of workplace inequality and a central target of employer diversity efforts, yet we know little about the content of stereotypes and where they prevail. Stereotypes can be ambivalent, mixing negative and positive dimensions. Ambivalent stereotypes can rationalize discriminatory decision-making but they may also be more amenable to change. This article examines the prevalence of wholly negative and ambivalent age-based stereotypes across organizational contexts. Data on 551 managers reveals, first, that the modal manager holds ambivalent stereotypes about older workers, with positive perceptions of their personal attributes and negative perceptions regarding their employability. Second, both negative and ambivalent stereotypes are common in the presence of a labour union. Their prevalence declines, however, in different contexts: ambivalent stereotypes decline with increased intergroup contact and negative stereotypes decline when accountability triggers are implmented. Implications for research on work, organizations, older workers, and diversity management are discussed.
Funder
alfred p. sloan foundation
Yitzhak Shamir Scholarship-the Israeli Ministry of Science & Technology
The Israeli National Insurance Research Fund
Subject
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management,Economics and Econometrics,Sociology and Political Science,Accounting
Cited by
1 articles.
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