Research From a National Perspective

In a 2016 Harvard Business Review article, David Hekman and Stefanie Johnson, who were both associate professors at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, conducted a study about the likelihood of women or people of color being selected for a position when they are the only woman or person of color in the pool.

This study finds that because 95% of CEOs are white men, status quo bias leads them to often prefer white men for positions, according to the article. However, when the status quo changed, so did the results. This research, and what Johnson and Hekman call the “two-in-the-pool” theory, found that when the majority of finalists for a position are similar in race or gender, one of them is more likely to get the job.

Johnson said she can’t remember how the team decided to research the topic, but what came to mind for her was a marketing term called the “decoy effect.”

“Essentially, if you have two similarly priced, for example, televisions, and one that’s way cheaper or way more expensive, there’s a cognitive bias that tells you to pick from one of the two similar ones,” she said.

This was the birth of Johnson and Hekman’s “two-in-the-pool” theory, she said. Johnson and Hekman’s study doesn’t simply apply to race or gender, but any identifying characteristic that sets one candidate apart from the rest.

“We found that when a majority of the finalists were white (demonstrating the status quo), participants tended to recommend hiring a white candidate,” the article stated. “But when a majority of finalists were Black, participants tended to recommend hiring a Black candidate.”

Having diversity in hiring has both theoretical influence and real-world effects. According to Johnson and Hekman, it is impossible to have the best pool of applicants without diversity within the pool.

“If you don’t have a diverse applicant pool, then you haven’t done a great job of attracting the most talented slate of people,” Johnson said. “If all of your applicants are white men, you’ve missed out on approximately 70% of the population, which means you miss out on great talent. I think hiring on merit would actually mean that you do the work to get a diverse candidate slate.”

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About the Author: DrStefanieKJohnson

Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Management at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. She holds a Ph.D. from Rice University and is particularly interested in the effects of unconscious biases in the evaluation of women and minorities, with the goal of finding ways to mitigate those biases. Dr. Johnson brings bias to light with an engaging and humorous approach to advanced scientific research, which has earned her numerous accolades and invitations to present her work at meetings around the world, including the White House for a 2016 summit on diversity in corporate America on National Equal Pay Day, and the 2016 Harvard Negotiation and Leadership Conference. She has published over 70 journal articles and book chapters in outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Journal of Applied Psychology and The Academy of Management Journal. She has extensive consulting experience and has created and delivered leadership-development training with an emphasis on evidence-based practice. In recognition of her unique research, Dr. Johnson has been awarded nearly three million dollars in external funding to study leadership and create leadership development programs aimed at increasing safety. Media outlets featuring her work include: The Economist, Newsweek, Time, and CNN. Stefanie lives in the Boulder Bubble in Colorado with her Biology Professor husband, two young kiddos, and two old kitties.