Interaction Between Race and Gender and Effect on Implicit Racial Bias Against Blacks

Shervin Assari

doi:10.15171/ijer.2018.10

Abstract

Background and aims: Exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination is not solely a function of race but the intersection of race and gender, with Black men experiencing more discrimination than Black women. This phenomenon is explained by the subordinate male target hypothesis, suggesting that majority men specifically target men of color. If that is the case, implicit bias would be most common among the majority men. The current cross-sectional study investigated race by gender differences in implicit bias against Blacks. Methods: Data came from Harvard University’s Project Implicit, an online survey, conducted during 2006-2016. Data included 444422 implicit association tests (IATs) which were taken by Blacks (n=56384) and Whites (n=388038). Using IAT, the dependent variable was implicit bias against Blacks. Independent variables were race, gender, and age. Using SPSS, linear regressions were utilized to test the additive and multiplicative effects of race and gender on implicit bias against Blacks. Results: Race (b = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.38-0.39) and gender (b = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.05-0.05) were associated with IAT score suggesting higher implicit bias against Blacks among Whites and men. A significant interaction was found between race and gender (b = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.04-0.07), suggesting the highest level of implicit bias against Blacks among White men. Conclusion: It is not solely race and gender but their intersection that shapes social distribution of implicit bias against Blacks. This finding extends the previous literature showing that not solely race or gender but their intersection influences exposure to discrimination. Keywords: Ethnic groups, Racism, Racial discrimination, Race, Whites, Blacks, African Americans, Gender, Bias, Implicit bias

Highlights

IntroductionImplicit and explicit bias are two interconnected mechanisms behind racial health disparities in the United States.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] Explicit bias diminishes physical and mental health of Blacks.[6,10,11,12,13,14] Blacks across age groups are victims of explicit and implicit racial bias.[12,15,16,17,18,19]Implicit and explicit bias influence health of Blacks as they activate a number of pathophysiological pathways that cause illness over time
White and Black men showed significantly higher implicit association tests (IATs) scores compared to White and Black women, indicative of higher implicit bias against Blacks among men compared to women (Table 2)
There is a need to invest on policies and programs that reduce explicit and implicit bias in the United States

Summary

Introduction

Implicit and explicit bias are two interconnected mechanisms behind racial health disparities in the United States.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] Explicit bias diminishes physical and mental health of Blacks.[6,10,11,12,13,14] Blacks across age groups are victims of explicit and implicit racial bias.[12,15,16,17,18,19]Implicit and explicit bias influence health of Blacks as they activate a number of pathophysiological pathways that cause illness over time. Results: Race (b = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.38-0.39) and gender (b = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.05-0.05) were associated with IAT score suggesting higher implicit bias against Blacks among Whites and men. A significant interaction was found between race and gender (b = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.04-0.07), suggesting the highest level of implicit bias against Blacks among White men. Conclusion: It is not solely race and gender but their intersection that shapes social distribution of implicit bias against Blacks. This finding extends the previous literature showing that not solely race or gender but their intersection influences exposure to discrimination.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion