WE SEE IT DIFFERENTLY: DIFFERENTIAL PERCEPTIONS OF WORKPLACE DIVERSITY CLIMATES FOR WOMEN IN STEM

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which female faculty in STEM hold negative departmental diversity climate perceptions, discrepant diversity climate perceptions (i.e., individual diversity climate perceptions that diverge from others in one's work environment), and the relationship between discrepant perceptions and turnover intentions. Using faultline theory (Lau and Murnighan, 1998) as a foundation, we hypothesized that women in STEM have more negative perceptions of their departmental diversity climate, have more negatively discrepant perceptions of their departmental diversity climate, and that this greater perceptual discrepancy relates to higher turnover intentions compared to men in STEM fields and compared to women and men in non-STEM fields. We tested our hypotheses in a sample of 737 (62% male, 86% White) faculty who completed an online faculty climate survey. The hypotheses were fully supported. Results point to not only the occurrence of negative diversity climate perceptions but the discrepancy of these perceptions to others in the same work environment. They also suggest the importance of raising dominant group members' awareness of problematic diversity climates so that their perceptions align more closely with those in minoritized positions.