MGMT349CH12 - Does Diversity Training Work the Way Its Supposed To

Ubiquity of Training: Virtually all Fortune 500 companies offer diversity training to their employees.
Lack of Measurement: Despite widespread implementation, surprisingly few companies measure the impact of the training.
Surprising Evidence: Some evidence suggests that diversity training can backfire by eliciting defensiveness from employees who could benefit the most.
Impact Duration: Even when the training is beneficial, effects may not last once the program ends.

Curiosity: Researchers were driven to understand the effects of a rigorously tested training program based on scientific findings about behavior change.
Primary Questions:
- Can this training change employee attitudes?
- Can it prompt more inclusive behavior?
- Will these changes be lasting?
Training Versions Developed:
- Version 1: Focused on Gender Bias.
- Version 2: Addressed Bias of All Types (including gender, age, race, and sexual orientation).
- Control Version: Emphasized Psychological Safety in teams without mentioning bias.

Sample Size and Composition:
- Participants: Over 10,000 employees from a large global organization.
- Sign-ups: More than 3,000 signed up for participation.
- Demographics: 61.5% male, 38.5% female, approximately 25% were managers, and employees from 63 different countries.
Course Material:
- Developed based on research about attitude and behavior change.
- Focused on preventing defensiveness from participants.
Content Structure:
- Introductions by experts discussing psychological processes behind stereotyping and inequities in the workplace.
- Included an Implicit Association Test for participants to reflect on their unconscious biases.
- Strategies taught to overcome bias in workplace practices (e.g., reviewing resumes, conducting evaluations).

Post-Training Attitude Assessment: Attitudes toward women and racial minorities were measured immediately after training.
Behavior Observation: Behavior was observed over the next 20 weeks, focusing on informal mentoring choices, recognition of excellence, and volunteer help.

Positive Attitude Changes:
- The bias-focused trainings positively affected the attitudes of participants who were previously less supportive of women.
- These employees were more likely to:
- Acknowledge discrimination against women.
- Express support for policies favoring women.
- Recognize their own racial and gender biases.
No Backlash: For employees already supportive of women, no evidence suggested backlash against training.

Overall Behavioral Impact:
- Very little evidence indicated diversity training changed the behavior of men or white employees, who are typically the target of these interventions.
Surprising Insights:
- Largest Impact on Women: Training notably affected women in the U.S. divisions:
- Three weeks post-training, female employees became more proactive in seeking mentorship from senior colleagues.
- Suggests training raised awareness of bias-related barriers and fostered an environment where it was safe to advocate for themselves.
- Effects Beyond Gender: The training focused on gender bias inadvertently led to positive changes in attitudes and behaviors toward racial minorities; participants began to:
- Acknowledge their racial biases.
- Provide informal mentorship to racial minorities.
- Recognize the achievements of peers from these communities.
- Indicates that addressing bias in one group can create spillover effects on attitudes regarding another marginalized group.

Diverse Training Approaches:
- Do not treat diversity training as a one-size-fits-all solution.
- Implement a multipronged diversity and inclusion strategy:
- Encourage underrepresented talent to join, remain, succeed, and lead within organizations.
- Includes targeted training for different audiences and structural policy changes such as hiring practices and flexible working arrangements.
Data Collection and Review:
- Regularly gather and review data on employee attitudes and behaviors to evaluate training impact.
- Develop clear insights into which interventions work best.
Experimental Approach:
- Treat diversity training as an experiment to assess effectiveness compared to control groups.
- Small incremental costs in varying training formats can yield significant benefits.
- Organizations are encouraged to maintain curiosity and creativity in exploring diversity initiatives.

Edward H. Chang: Doctoral student at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Katherine L. Milkman: Assistant Professor of Operations and Information Management, University of Pennsylvania.
Laura J. Zarrow: Executive Director of Wharton People Analytics.
Kasandra Brabaw: Freelance journalist.
Dena M. Gromet: Executive Director of the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, University of Pennsylvania.
Reb Rebele: Researcher and educator at University of Pennsylvania.
Cade Massey: Practice Professor at Wharton School.
Angela L. Duckworth: Distinguished Professor of Psychology, founder of Character Lab, and author of 'Grit'.
Adam Grant: Organizational psychologist and author of 'Think Again'.