Managing diversity at the workplace: Can affirmative action policies increase interest in leadership positions?

Modern societies have become increasingly diverse. These changes have now affected the demographic composition of most workplaces, but such diversity is still very uncommon in management positions. With the aim of accelerating progress towards a better balance on corporate boards, many societies are developing ways of providing equal opportunities for individuals irrespective of their demographic background. The present research examines the process underlying the effects of affirmative action policies for leadership positions. We recruited both majority and minority group members from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (N = 389; 195 minority group members; MAge = 23.38, SD = 2.36), who were presented with a job advertisement that had one of four policy conditions (explicitly invited minorities to apply, treated minorities preferentially given equal qualification, quota of 40% minorities, or no policy) and were asked to report their perceived job fit and inclination to apply. Moderated serial mediation analysis showed that when the advertisement included a policy that explicitly invited minorities to apply or treated minorities preferentially given equal qualification, minority group members reported higher perceived job fit and, in turn, higher inclinations to apply – compared to both the advertisement without any policy and majority group members. In contrast, in a quota of 40% minorities condition, among minority group members, there were no effects on perceived job fit or inclination to apply. Our results suggest that only certain policies may be expedient for managing diversity in leadership positions by decreasing minorities’ perceived lack-of-fit for leadership