A Costly Penny for Your Thoughts?: Allies Cause Harm by Soliciting Disadvantaged Group Members' Voice when Confronting Prejudice

Abstract

When confronting acts of prejudice in the workplace, allies may solicit input—or voice—from marginalized employees, thereby involving them (potentially against their will) in the confrontation. Across six studies (N=2,820; five of which were pre-registered) and two supplemental studies (N=772)—using multiple prejudice confrontation and voice solicitation situations, as well as different disadvantaged groups (i.e., women and racially marginalized individuals)—I find that soliciting voice from disadvantaged group members has negative affective consequences for the disadvantaged group member and negative evaluative consequences for the ally. Specifically, members of disadvantaged groups whose voices are directly solicited (vs. not directly solicited) by an ally during a prejudice confrontation experience more emotional burden; in turn, they view the ally as less deserving of status and seek to minimize their future exposure to the ally. Integrating insights from the prejudice confrontation and organizational voice literatures, these findings highlight the theoretical value and practical importance of examining prejudice confrontations from the disadvantaged group member’s perspective.