We conducted an experimental study to compare the effects of organization-sponsored gender diversity management programs on women’s evaluations of organizational attractiveness in two countries: the United States and France. Importantly, we examined perceived potential for advancement as a mediator of the relationship, thus elaborating on an underlying mechanism implied by signaling theory. Results from a sample of 230 women in the United States and France provided overall support for the model. We found that country and individual characteristics affect how diversity management signals are translated into perceptions of the organization. We discuss the theoretical and practical contributions of the study, as well as limitations and opportunities for future research.
After the Riots. (December2005). The Economist, 377(8457), 47-48.
2.
AllenD. G.MahtoR. V.OtondoR. F. (2007). Web-based recruitment: Effects of information, organizational brand, and attitudes toward a web site on applicant attraction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1696-1708.
3.
AndrevskiG.RichardO. C.ShawJ. D.FerrierW. J. (2014). Racial diversity and firm performance: The mediating role of competitive intensity. Journal of Management, 40, 820-844.
4.
AveryD. R.McKayP. F. (2006). Target practice: An organizational impression management approach to attracting minority and female job applicants. Personnel Psychology, 59, 157-187.
5.
BattagliolaF. (2004). Histoire du travail des femmes [History of women’s work]. Paris: La Découverte.
6.
BeatonA. M.TougasF. (2001). Reactions to affirmative action: Group membership and social justice. Social Justice Research, 14(1), 61-78.
7.
BellM. P.HarrisonD. A.McLaughlinM. E. (2000). Forming, changing, and acting on attitude toward affirmative action programs in employment: A theory-driven approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 784-798.
8.
BrislinR. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185-216.
9.
CableD. M.GrahamM. E. (2000). The determinants of job seekers’ reputation perceptions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 929-947.
10.
CableD. M.JudgeT. A. (1996). Person-organization fit, job choice decisions, and organizational entry. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 67, 294-311.
11.
ChenC. C.HooijbergR. (2000). Ambiguity intolerance and support for valuing-diversity interventions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 2392-2408.
12.
CoxT. H.BlakeS. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational competitiveness. Academy of Management Executive, 5(3), 45-56.
13.
DezsöC. L.RossD. G. (2012). Does female representation in top management improve firm performance? A panel data investigation. Strategic Management Journal, 33, 1072-1089.
14.
DineenB. R.AshS. R.NoeR. A. (2002). A web of applicant attraction: Person-organization fit in the context of web-based recruitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 723-734.
15.
D’IribarneP. (1989). La logique de l’honneur: Gestion des entreprises et traditions nationales. [The logic of honor: Corporate management and national traditions] Paris: Editions du seuil.
16.
D’IribarneP. (2002). La legitimite de l’entreprise comme acteur ethique aux Etats-Unis et en France [The legitimacy of the enterprise as an ethical actor in the United States and France]. Revue Francaise de Gestion [French Review of Management], 140(28), 23-39.
17.
EdwardsJ. R.LambertL. S. (2007). Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 1-22.
18.
ElyR. J.ThomasD. A. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The moderating effects of work group perspectives on diversity. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 229-273.
19.
ErhartK. H.ZiegertJ. C. (2005). Why are individuals attracted to organizations?Journal of Management, 31, 901-918.
20.
GerhartB. (2009). Does national culture constrain organizational culture and human resource strategy? The role of individual level mechanisms and implications for employee selection. In MartocchioJ. J.LiaoH. (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (pp. 1-48). Bradford, UK: Emerald.
21.
GhilesF. (2005, November). N Africans waiting for a policy change. Financial Times, p. 18.
22.
Glass Ceiling Commission. (1995). Good for business: Making full use of the nation’s human capital. Washington, DC: Author.
23.
GooderhamP. N.NordhaugO.RingdalK. (1999). Institutional and rational determinants of organizational practices: Human resource management in European firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 507-532.
24.
GreenbergJ. (1987). A taxonomy of organizational justice theories. Academy of Management Review, 12, 9-22.
25.
HarrisonD. A.KravitzD. A.MayerD. M.LeslieL. M.Lev-AreyD. (2006). Understanding attitudes toward affirmative action programs in employment: Summary and meta-analysis of 35 years of research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1013-1036.
26.
HegewischA.MayneL. (1994). Equal opportunities policies in Europe. In BrewsterC.HegewischA. (Eds.), Policy and practice in European human resource management: The Price Waterhouse Cranfield Survey (pp. 194-217). London, England: Routledge.
27.
HeilmanM. E.AlcottV. B. (2001). What I think you think of me: Women’s reactions to being viewed as beneficiaries of preferential selection. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 574-582.
28.
HeilmanM. E.BattleW. S.KellerC. E.LeeR. A. (1998). Type of affirmative action policy: A determinant of reactions to sex-based preferential selection?Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 190-205.
29.
HeilmanM. E.RiveroJ. C.BrettJ. F. (1991). Skirting the competence issue: Effects of sex-based preferential selection on task choices of women and men. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 99-105.
30.
HeilmanM. E.SimonM. C.RepperD. P. (1987). Intentionally favored, unintentionally harmed? Impact of sex-based preferential selection on self-perceptions and self-evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 62-68.
31.
HouseR. J.HangesP. J.ArmourM. P.DorfmanP. W.GuptaV. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
32.
Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques [National Institute of Statistcs and Economic Studies]. (2008). Femmes et Hommes - Regards sur la parité [Women and men - a look at parity] (Vol. 2008). Author.
33.
JacksonJ. C. (2001). Women middle managers’ perception of the glass ceiling. Women in Management Review, 16(1), 30-41.
34.
JacksonS. E.JoshiA. (2004). Diversity in social context: A multi-attribute, multilevel analysis of team diversity and sales performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 675-702.
35.
JamesL. R.HaterJ. J.GentM. J.BruniJ. R. (1978). Psychological climate: Implications from cognitive social learning theory and interactional psychology. Personnel Psychology, 31, 781-813.
36.
JamesL. R.JonesA. P. (1974). Organizational climate: A review of theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 81, 1096-1112.
37.
JensonJ.SineauM. (1995). Mitterand et les francaises: Un rendez-vous manque [Mitterand and the French: A missed rendezvous. Paris: Presses de Sciences Politiques.
38.
JudgeT. A.LockeE. A.DurhamC. C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 151-188.
39.
KlarsfeldA. (2009). The diffusion of diversity management: The case of France. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 25, 363-373.
40.
KochanT.BezrukovaK.ElyR. J.JacksonS.JoshiA.JehnK. A.. . . ThomasD. (2003). The effects of diversity on business performance: Report of the diversity research network. Human Resource Management, 42(1), 3-21.
41.
KonradA. M.HartmannL. (2001). Gender differences in attitude toward affirmative action programs in Australia: Effects of beliefs, interests, and attitudes toward women. Sex Roles, 45, 415-432.
42.
KonradA. M.LinnehanF. (1995). Race and sex differences in line managers’ reactions to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action interventions. Group and Organization Management, 20, 409-439.
43.
KravitzD. A.PlataniaJ. (1993). Attitudes and beliefs about affirmative action: Effects of target and of respondent sex and ethnicity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 928-938.
44.
Laboratoire de l’égalité [Laboratory of Equality]. (2014). Laboratoire de l’égalité [Laboratory of equality]. Retrieved from http://www.laboratoiredelegalite.org/
45.
LedvinkaJ.ScarpelloV. G. (1991). Federal regulation of personnel and human resource management. (Vol. 2). Boston, MA: PWS-Kent.
46.
LievensF.HighhouseS. (2003). The relation of instrumental and symbolic attributes to a company’s attractiveness as an employer. Personnel Psychology, 56, 75-102.
47.
LynessK. S.ThompsonD. E. (1997). Above the glass ceiling? A comparison of matched samples of female and male executives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 359-375.
48.
MajorB.FeinsteinJ.CrockerJ. (1994). Attributional ambiguity of affirmative action. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 15, 113-141.
49.
MartinsL. L.ParsonsC. K. (2007). Effects of gender diversity management on perceptions of organizational attractiveness: The role of individual differences in attitudes and beliefs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 865-875.
50.
MathesonK.EchenbergA.TaylorD. M.RiversR.ChowI. (1994). Women’s attitudes toward affirmative action: Putting action into context. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 2075-2096.
51.
McGauranA.-M. (2001). Masculine, feminine, or neutral? In-company equal opportunities policies in Irish and French MNC retailing. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12, 754-771.
52.
MillikenF. J.MartinsL. L. (1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21, 402-433.
53.
Ollier-MalaterreA. (2009). Organizational work-life initiatives: Context matters. France compared to the UK and the US. Community, Work and Family, 12, 159-178.
54.
Ollier-MalaterreA.ValcourM.DulkL. D.KossekE. E. (2013). Theorizing national context to develop comparative work-life research: A review and research agenda. European Management Journal, 31, 433-447.
55.
PedhazurE. J. (1982). Multiple regression in behavioral research: Explanation and prediction (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
56.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.LeeJ. Y.PodsakoffN. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903.
57.
RichardO. C.KirbyS. L. (1998). Women recruits’ perceptions of workforce diversity program selection decisions: A procedural justice examination. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 183-188.
58.
RiordanC. M.ShoreL. M. (1997). Demographic diversity and employee attitude: An empirical examination of relational demography within work units. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 342-358.
59.
RodriguezG. (2006, April). French blinders. Los Angeles Times, p. M5.
60.
RynesS. L. (1991). Recruitment, job choice, and post-hire consequences: A call for new research directions. In DunnetteM. D.HoughL. M. (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 399-444). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
61.
RynesS. L.BarberA. E. (1990). Applicant attraction strategies: An organizational perspective. Academy of Management Review, 15, 286-310.
62.
RynesS. L.BretzR. D.GerhartB. (1991). The importance of recruitment in job choice: A different way of looking. Personnel Psychology, 44, 487-521.
63.
SabbaghD. (2008). The collection of ethnoracial statistics: Developments in the French controversy. A policy brief from the Equality of Opportunity Program. Paris: French-American Foundation.
64.
ScholariosD.TaylorP. (2011). Beneath the glass ceiling: Explaining gendered role segmentation in call centres. Human Relations, 64, 1291-1319.
65.
SchwoererC.RosenB. (1989). Effects of employment-at-will policies and compensation policies on corporate image and job pursuit intentions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 653-656.
66.
SmithW. J.WokutchR. E.HarringtonK. V.DennisB. S. (2004). Organizational attractiveness and corporate social orientation: Do our values influence our preference for affirmative action and managing diversity?Business & Society, 43, 69-96.
StineR. (1989). An introduction to bootstrap methods. Sociological Methods & Research, 18, 243-291.
69.
SwimJ. K.AikinK. J.HallW. S.HunterB. A. (1995). Sexism and racism: Old-fashioned and modern prejudices. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 199-214.
70.
TatliA.ÖzbilginM. (2012). An emic approach to intersectional study of diversity at work: A Bourdieuan framing. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14, 180-200.
71.
TepperB. T.DuffyM. K.HenleC. A.LambertL. S. (2006). Procedural injustice, victim precipitation, and abusive supervision. Personnel Psychology, 59, 101-123.
72.
ThomasK. M.WiseP. G. (1999). Organizational attractiveness and individual differences: Are diverse applicants attracted by different factors?Journal of Business and Psychology, 13, 375-391.
73.
ThorsteinsonT. J.HighhouseS. (2003). Effects of goal framing in job advertisements on organizational attractiveness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 2393-2412.
74.
TomV. R. (1971). The role of personality and organizational images in the recruiting process. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 6, 573-592.
75.
TougasF.BeatonA. M. (1992). Women’s views on affirmative action: A new look at preferential treatment. Social Justice Research, 5, 239-248.
76.
TougasF.BeatonA. M. (1993). Affirmative action in the workplace: For better or for worse. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 42, 253-264.
77.
TruxilloD.BauerT. N. (2000). The roles of gender and affirmative action attitude in reactions to test score use methods. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1812-1828.
78.
TungR. L. (1993). Managing cross-national and intra-national diversity. Human Resource Management, 32, 461-477.
79.
TurbanD. B.GreeningD. W. (1996). Corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness to prospective employees. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 658-672.
80.
TurbanD. B.KeonT. L. (1993). Organizational attractiveness: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 184-193.
81.
TurnerM. E.PratkanisA. R.HardawayT. J. (1991). Sex differences in reactions to preferential selection: Towards a model of preferential selection as help. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6, 797-814.
82.
Van KnippenbergD.SchippersM. C. (2007). Work group diversity. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 515-541.
83.
WalkerH. J.BauerT. N.ColeM. S.BernerthJ. B.FeildH. S.ShortJ. C. (2013). Is this how I will be treated? Reducing uncertainty through recruitment interactions. Academy of Management Journal, 56, 1325-1347.
84.
WalkerH. J.FeildH. S.BernerthJ. B.BectonJ. B. (2012). Diversity cues on recruitment websites: Investigating the effects on job seekers’ information processing. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 214-224.
85.
WalkerH. J.FeildH. S.GilesW. F.BernerthJ. B.Jones-FarmerL. A. (2007). An assessment of attraction toward affirmative action organizations: Investigating the role of individual differences. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28, 485-507.
86.
WilliamsK. Y.O’ReillyC. A. (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research. Research in Organizational Behavior, 20, 77-140.
87.
WilliamsM. L.BauerT. N. (1994). The effect of managing diversity policy on organizational attractiveness. Group and Organization Studies, 19, 295-308.
88.
WilliamsonI. O.SlayH. S.ShapiroD. L.Shivers-BlackwellS. L. (2008). The effect of explanations on prospective applicants’ reactions to firm diversity practices. Human Resource Management, 47, 311-330.
89.
WolkinsonB. (2008). Employment law: The workplace rights of employees and employers (Vol. 2nd). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
90.
WrenchJ. (2005). Diversity management can be bad for you. Race & Class, 46(3), 73-84.
