The influence of cultural empathy and gender on perceptions of diversity programs.

Because of changes in demography and the emphasis on diversity programming, organizational leaders need to understand how employees' empathy toward diverse groups affects diversity program perceptions. This study examines whether individual ethnic/cultural empathy toward diverse groups relates to intentions to attend and interest in diversity initiatives. The sample consisted of 294 college students at a moderate sized Midwestern University. There were moderate significant relationships found. Women and those higher in ethnic/cultural empathy reported higher behavioral intentions to attend and positive perceptions of diversity programs. Managers and human resource personnel could use these findings to assess the diversity climate of their organization allowing for better targeted interventions based on current workforce attitudes and levels of cultural empathy.

Keywords: leadership; diversity; empathy; gender; behavioral intentions

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Change, which is a multifaceted constant in organizations, challenges managers to be creative when it comes to leading employees. One of the most relevant changes in our time is the shifting demographics of the workforce. This change is pertinent not only for companies located in the United States but for organizations around the world. Plain and simple, diversity in the workforce is becoming an organizational reality and can be highly beneficial if managed correctly (Thomas, 2004; Jayne & Dipboye, 2004). Unfortunately, diversity programs have been known to be expensive and often unsuccessful (Aghazadeh, 2004; Davidson, 1999; Kalev, Dobbin, & Kelly, 2006). Many organizational leaders, however, believe that diversity training is a necessary component to a diversity initiative (Cox, 1991; Davidson & Ferdman, 2002; Meyerson & Fletcher, 2000; Wiethoff, 2004). The popularity and cost of such programs indicate the need and attention that is required from managers and program developers to incorporate appropriate and effective initiatives (Agars & Kottke, 2004; Anand & Winters, 2008; Bell & Kravitz, 2008; Cox, 2001; Kulik & Roberson, 2008; Thomas & Ely, 1996; Wiethoff, 2004). Furthermore, Mathieu, Tannenbaum, and Salas (1992) and Rosset and Bickham (1994) contended that the causes of diversity program failures need to be examined as the need for increased acceptance of diversity is unquestionable. Consequently, successful diversity programs are a necessity in today's workforce due to globalization and demographic shifts, and managers should treat them as a priority as we delve into the next century.

Cooperation by employees toward organizational goals is an essential element for success (Li & Hambrick, 2005). However, when diversity factors are highlighted through diversity awareness programs differences between groups are often focused on, which has the potential to lead to conflict (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Validzic, 1998). Furthermore, diversity faultlines, apparent differences between groups on diversity characteristics and traits, are a possible cause of diversity programs failure. For instance, Li and Hambrick (2005) found that large diversity faultlines increase emotional and task conflicts in corporations. In their study, emotional conflict also related to behavioral disintegration, which had tangible effects on an organization through the loss of productivity (Li & Hambrick, 2005). Consequently, organizational management needs to counter potential conflict due to diversity factors.

The rise of women's breaking the glass ceiling and gaining leadership positions within organizations also contributes to the change in workforce demographics (Eagly & Carli, 2007). Managers need to address the potential impacts on their organizations' culture and diversity climate related to the imminent changing nature of workplace leadership gender demographics. For example, Wang et al. (2003) along with Cundiff and Komarraju (2008) found that women tend to possess more empathy across cultures than men do. Additionally, it is well known that a leader's commitment to a diversity initiative is one of the most prominent predictors of success (Aghazadeh, 2004; Cox, 1991, 2001; Crosby, Iyer, & Sincharoen, 2006). Therefore, as women rise into leadership positions, their greater cultural empathy may help them be more successful in implementing diversity programs.

Addressing possible issues associated with increasing diversity is important in the expanding global marketplace. To accomplish this task, diversity interventions should attempt to increase cultural similarity awareness and decrease ethnocentric attitudes held by employees. Triandis (2003) suggested that focusing on organizational members' levels of cultural intelligence would assist in these processes. Additionally, individual cultural intelligence (Triandis, 2003, 2006) can be enhanced through increasing empathy toward various groups (Vescio, Sechrist, & Paolucci, 2003; Wang et al., 2003). This research examines the relationship between ethnic/cultural empathy and behavioural intentions toward different components of diversity initiatives.

Ethnocultural Empathy

Ethnocentrism is considered a fundamental source of out-group negativity, which is defined as judgements due to assessments of other cultures in reference to one's own culture (Triandis, 2003). Ethnocentrism facilitates negative judgments against culturally diverse groups similar to making attribution errors. According to this theory, diverse groups overall are perceived as being in control of unconstructive behaviors, which Triandis (2003) called the "ultimate fundamental attribution error" (p. 490). In other words, out-groups are blamed for their faults, whereas in-group members attribute imperfection to conditions beyond the group's control. Additionally, Cunningham, Nezlek, and Banaji (2004) found that ethnocentrism is an underlying factor in negative attitudes toward diverse groups and that "those who hold negative attitudes toward one disadvantaged group also tend to hold negative attitudes toward other disadvantaged groups" (p. 1341). Work by Cunningham et al. indicates that negative stereotypes held against one disadvantaged group is predictive of or generalizes to other groups. Therefore, negative attitudes could have a direct impact on employees' collaborative work and/or acceptance of other employees in diverse work settings.

Negative attitudes contribute to additional organizational ramifications beyond interpersonal conflict. Intolerance toward diversity can affect socioemotional components of individuals belonging to minority groups within an organization. For example, Katz, Joiner, and Kwon (2002) identified pathways to emotional distress in the examination of individuals belonging to devalued or disadvantaged social groups. These pathways resemble the internalization of negative stereotypes directly affecting an individual's self-esteem. For instance, belonging to a disadvantaged group increases the risk of emotional distress through feelings of being devalued, resulting in the development of negative attitudes and behaviors. Consequently, negative attitudes toward diverse groups stemming from ethnocentric values can cause distress in the workforce as a whole and have a dangerous self-fulfilling relationship with individuals coming from disadvantaged groups.

Triandis (2006) claimed, "Learning to overcome ... bias requires a great deal of training because in some sense one goes against 'human nature'" (p. 22). Furthermore, the literature on privilege suggests that people with negative feelings toward diversity may feel threatened by diversity training due to potential loss of privileged positions (Johnson, 2006). However, training that focuses on increasing employees' empathy may change unfavourable attitudes toward an organization's diversity groups. This reasoning stems from the nature of the empathic concept, which concerns feelings of understanding and concern for other people's welfare (Dovidio et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2003). For example, prejudice and negative attitudes toward African Americans has been shown to be reduced through taking the out-groups' perspective (i.e., putting yourself in another's shoes) and, therefore, increasing empathy (Vescio, Sechrist, & Paolucci, 2003). Vescio, et al. (2003) examined stereotypes by having participants watch a structured interview of an African American discussing their reactions toward being in a stigmatized group, and pre-existing empathy was found to partially mediate the relationship between perspective taking and negative attitudes. In addition, Dovidio et al. (2004) found that increasing the ability to perceive injustice toward diverse groups increased empathy and thus decreased prejudicial feelings. Empathy toward diverse others is also important in facilitating cooperation in work teams (Dovidio et al., 2004). Therefore, empathy, which focuses on cultural and deep level attributes such as values and work ethic, should be considered when developing different diversity programs (Mallett, Wilson, & Gilbert, in press; Triandis, 2003).

A recent trend in the literature is to examine empathy as a multidimensional construct with situation specific empathy subtypes, such as emotional empathy or ethnocultural empathy (Cundiff & Komarraju, 2008; Newsdale, Griffith, Durkin, & Maass, 2005; Vescio et al., 2003; Wang, et al., 2003). When diversity in an organization is of concern, ethnocultural empathy is important because it encompasses the amount of empathy people have toward diverse cultures and ethnicities on attributes such as empathic feeling and expression, cultural awareness, perspective taking, and acceptance of cultural differences (Wang et al., 2003). The definition of culture used here encompasses differences in the belongingness to specific cultural groups, such as being a woman or homosexual, and does not only refer to nationality. Additionally, ethnic/cultural empathy may be related to attitudes toward diversity initiatives, specifically considering behavioral intentions toward attending diversity training and perceptions for more diversity programs because people with empathy toward cultural differences may understand the need for programs addressing inequality and discrimination.

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