White Racial Identity Theory: A Framework for Understanding Reactions toward Interracial Situations in Organizations

Abstract

As the demographics of the workforce change from predominantly White to more racially diverse, it is important to understand the various reactions White individuals may have to working in more heterogeneous organizations. The present study examined the relation between White racial identity attitudes and reactions to interracial situations at work. Participants were full-time employees. As predicted by White racial identity theory (Helms, 1990), those individuals with high levels of Autonomy attitudes had more positive reactions to interracial situations at work, and those individuals characterized by high levels of Disintegration and Reintegration attitudes had more negative reactions to interracial situations at work. The results for Contact and Pseudo-Independent attitudes were less straightforward. The results are supportive of the theory and suggest that further research using White racial identity theory in organizational contexts would be fruitful.