Work

Missing the target: Evaluating the ironic consequences of identity-targeted recruitment advertisements on Black Americans’ anticipated tokenism and organizational identity safety.

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: = 1,505) imagined that they were applying for a position at a fictional company and saw a targeted recruitment advertisement (which made a direct appeal to recruit Black Americans or racial minorities broadly) or a control advertisement. Findings demonstrated that viewing a targeted (vs. control) advertisement increased concerns about tokenization and reduced anticipated identity safety at the organization, and tokenism served as a mechanism underlying lower levels of anticipated identity safety. Notably, using multiple diversity cues in conjunction with the targeted advertisement significantly reduced concerns about tokenism relative to a targeted advertisement without these cues, but did not fully ameliorate this effect. Therefore, despite research endorsing the use of identity-targeted recruitment strategies, targeting marginalized identities may, ironically, impede recruitment efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology General

DOI: 10.1037/xge0001882

Authors: Veronica Derricks, Eva S. Pietri, India R. Johnson, Leslie Ashburn-Nardo

Institutions: Indiana University Indianapolis, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Colorado Boulder

Language: English

Topic: Social and Intergroup Psychology

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences