The Role of Accountability in Suppressing Managers’ Preinterview Bias against African-American Sales Job Applicants

Abstract

In an experiment on preinterview racial bias, white sales managers evaluated the resume of either a white or African- American applicant for a sales position. Managers exhibited a preinterview racial bias, giving a more positive hiring recommendation for the white versus African-American applicant even though their resumes were exactly the same. However, when managers felt accountable to others for their evaluations, they suppressed racial bias by evaluating the African-American’s credentials more positively. Our experiment identifies a condition under which preinterview racial bias against African-American sales applicants may be attenuated and delineates a strategy by which managers may overcome preinterview racial bias.