Across several studies, Kellogg’s Maryam Kouchaki and her colleagues find that people in positions of structural power report less inequity in their organizations than other employees, in part because they identify more with their workplace. This has consequences for managers’ support for diversity programs. However, their support for such programs increases after they are asked to recall an instance of workplace bias.


When Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff was approached by two of his executives and told that the company was paying men and women unequally, Benioff’s response was typical of many managers: that’s not possible. “It’s impossible because we have a great culture here,” he recalled saying, when asked about the exchange during a 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl. “We’re—we’re a ‘best place to work.’ And we don’t do that kind of thing. We don’t play shenanigans paying people—paying people unequally. It’s unheard of. It’s crazy.”

Even as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives ramp up in industry—the global market for DEI is expected to more than double to $24 billion by 2030—they often face roadblocks from managers who believe that, while inequity is pervasive, it is simply not a problem within their own institution.

Previous research attributes that denial to the fact that managers often belong to a demographic majority (white or male) or have conservative views that oppose such initiatives. But Maryam Kouchaki, a professor of management and organizations at Kellogg, thought this explanation was incomplete.

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