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Taking the Ambiguity Out of Subtle and Interpersonal Workplace Discrimination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2017

Christopher K. Marshburn ,
Nicole T. Harrington  and
Enrica N. Ruggs
Christopher K. Marshburn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Nicole T. Harrington
Affiliation:
Organizational Science, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Enrica N. Ruggs*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Enrica N. Ruggs, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001. E-mail: eruggs@uncc.edu
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Extract

In their target article, Jones, Arena, Nittrouer, Alonso, and Lindsey (2017) make a compelling argument that discrimination may be best conceptualized continuously rather than categorically with respect to dimensions of subtlety, formality, and intentionality. We agree that such a framework can help capture the multifaceted nature of discrimination. The authors note that subtle and interpersonal discrimination, in particular, are difficult to address through formal organizational policy. In the workplace, subtle and often interpersonal discrimination can be overlooked or attributed to misunderstanding and, thus, may go unpunished (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2004).

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 87 - 93
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2017 

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