Best Practices or Best Guesses: Which Corporate Diversity Programs Work? Frank Dobbin Harvard University, Department of Sociology Thanks to the National.

Best Practices or Best Guesses:Best Practices or Best Guesses:Which Corporate Diversity Which Corporate Diversity

Programs Work? Programs Work?

Best Practices or Best Guesses:Best Practices or Best Guesses:Which Corporate Diversity Which Corporate Diversity

Programs Work? Programs Work?

Frank DobbinFrank DobbinHarvard University, Department of SociologyHarvard University, Department of Sociology

Thanks to the National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and to my collaborators, Alexandra Kalev, Erin Kelly, and Daniel Schrage

Excellence Empowered by a Diverse Workforce: Achieving Racial & Ethnic Equity in ChemistryArlington, VA, September 26, 2007

White Men and Women in Management

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Year

Perc

ent o

f M

anag

ers

White Men

White Women

National Sample of 829 Firms

Minority Men and Women in Management

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Year

Perc

ent o

f Man

ager

s

Black Men

Hispanic Men

Black Women

Asian MenHispanic Women

Asian Women

Percent of Group Members Who are Managers, 2002

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

White Male White Female Black Male Black Female Hispanic Male HispanicFemale

Asian-American

Male

Asian-AmericanFemale

Perce

nt

Approaches to Diversity

• Establish Responsibility (Theory of Bureaucracy)– Diversity Taskforce– Diversity Manager

• Combat Bias (Cognitive Psychology)– Diversity Training

• Alter Incentives (Agency Theory in Economics)– Diversity Evaluations

• Combat Social Isolation (Network Theory)– Network Program– Mentor Program

National Sample of 829 Firms in 2002

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Perc

ent o

f Fi

rms

DiversityTaskforce

DiversityManager

DiversityTraining

DiversityEvaluations

NetworkProgram

MentorProgram

Popularity of Diversity Programs

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40P

erce

nt

Ch

ang

e

DiversityTaskforce

DiversityManager

DiversityTraining

DiversityEvaluations

NetworkProgram

MentorProgram

Program Effects on Management Diversity

White Men White Women Black Men Black Women

Hispanic Men Hispanic Women Asian Men Asian Women

Which Programs Increase Diversity?

• Establishing Responsibility– Diversity Taskforce– Diversity Manager

• Combating Bias– Diversity Training

• Altering Incentives– Diversity Evaluations

• Combating Social Isolation– Network Program– Mentor Program

• Another Instance of Establishing Responsibility?

Part II: Transparency vs. Targeting

Formal, Transparent, Rules

• Pro: Minimizes Discretion, Bias

• Con: Disconnect – Practice Doesn’t Change

Targeted Solutions

• Pro: Pinpoint Problems

• Con: Elicit Backlash

Bureaucratice Hiring and Promotion

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Year

Perc

ent o

f F

irm

s

Performance Evaluations

Job Description

Internal Job Posting

Salary Classification

Discharge Guidelines

Hiring Guidelines

Job Advertisement

Promotion Guidelines

Peer Evaluations

Job Ladders

Job Tests - Managers

Training and Recruitment

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1971

1974

1977

1980

1983

1986

1989

1992

1995

1998

2001

Year

Per

cent

of

Firm

s

Management Training

Referral Incentives

Recruit Minorities to Mgt.

Recruit Women to Training

Recruit Minorities to Training

Recruit Women to Mgt.

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%P

erce

nt

Ch

ange

Job Posting PromotionLadder

SpecialRecruitment -

Women

SpecialRecruitment -

Minorities

Recruitmentto Training -

Women

ReferralIncentives

Program Effects on Management Diversity

White Men White Women Black Men Black Women

Hispanic Men Hispanic Women Asian Men Asian Women

Part II Conclusions: Transparency vs. Targeting

• Transparency Has Small Effects– Hiring and Promotion Don’t Change?– Bureaucracy May Institutionalize Inequality

• Targeting Increases Diversity– Focuses Attention on Change– Identifies Candidates

What Can Academic Departments Do?

• What Doesn’t Work?– Diversity Training

– Networking– Diversity Performance

Evaluations– Transparency/

Bureaucracy

• What Works in Firms?– Assign Responsibility

Taskforces, Diversity Managers

– Mentoring

– Targeted Recruitment

[email protected]