Racial Diversity, Racial Asymmetries, and Team Learning Environment: Effects on Performance

Robin J. Ely; Irene  Padavic; David A. Thomas

Article | Organization Studies | March 2012

Racial Diversity, Racial Asymmetries, and Team Learning Environment: Effects on Performance

by Robin J. Ely, Irene Padavic and David A. Thomas

Abstract

This paper argues that learning in cross-race interactions is critical for work teams to realize performance benefits from racial diversity but that diversity is a liability when society's negative stereotypes about racial minorities' competence inhibit such interactions. We analyze two years of data from 496 retail bank branches to investigate racial asymmetries in the dynamics of team learning and their impact on the link between diversity and bottom-line performance. As expected, minorities' negative assessments of their team's learning environment precipitate a negative relationship between diversity and performance, irrespective of white teammates' assessments; only when both groups view the team's learning environment as supportive-implying that the team has successfully countered the negative effects of societal stereotypes on cross-race learning-is the relationship positive. We conclude that acknowledging the impact of societal asymmetries between racial groups, especially in regard to learning, can reorient research about the link between identity-group-based diversity and performance.

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Performance; Learning; Diversity;

Format: Print

Find at Harvard

Citation:

Ely, Robin J., Irene Padavic, and David A. Thomas. "Racial Diversity, Racial Asymmetries, and Team Learning Environment: Effects on Performance." Organization Studies 33, no. 3 (March 2012): 341–362.

Book | 2019

Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience

Laura Morgan Roberts, Anthony J. Mayo and David A. Thomas

Race, Work, and Leadership is a rare and important compilation of essays that examines how race matters in people’s experience of work and leadership. What does it mean to be black in corporate America today? How are racial dynamics in organizations changing? How do we build inclusive organizations? Inspired by and developed in conjunction with the research and programming for Harvard Business School’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the HBS African American Student Union, this groundbreaking book shines new light on these and other timely questions and illuminates the present-day dynamics of race in the workplace. Contributions from top scholars, researchers, and practitioners in leadership, organizational behavior, psychology, sociology, and education test the relevance of long-held assumptions and reconsider the research approaches and interventions needed to understand and advance African Americans in work settings and leadership roles. At a time when there are fewer African American men and women in corporate leadership roles, Race, Work, and Leadership will stimulate new scholarship and dialogue on the organizational and leadership challenges of African Americans and become the indispensable reference for anyone committed to understanding, studying, and acting on the challenges facing leaders who are building inclusive organizations.

Keywords: race and ethnicity; Diversity Management; inclusion; leader selection; Race; Ethnicity; Diversity; Leadership; Leadership Development; Employment;

Citation:

Roberts, Laura Morgan, Anthony J. Mayo, and David A. Thomas, eds. Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2019. View Details

Cite View Details Find at Harvard Purchase

Why have women failed to achieve parity with men in the workplace? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not because women prioritize their families over their careers, negotiate poorly, lack confidence, or are too risk averse. Meta-analyses of published studies show that those ideas are myths—men and women actually have similar inclinations, attitudes, and skills. What does differ is the way they are treated on the job: Women have less access to vital information, get less feedback from supervisors, and face other obstacles to advancement. To ensure gender equity, the authors recommend that managers (1) question the stereotypes behind their practices, (2) consider other factors that might explain the achievement gap, (3) change workplace conditions accordingly, and (4) keep challenging assumptions and sharing learning to create a culture in which all employees can reach their full potential.

Faculty & Research

Racial Diversity, Racial Asymmetries, and Team Learning Environment: Effects on Performance

Abstract

Citation:

About the Authors

More from these Authors