Allyship against pregnancy discrimination

Warren, M. A., Bock, H.*, Sekhon, T., & Winkelman K. M.* (submitted for publication). Allyship against pregnancy discrimination: Exploring observers’ spontaneous responses towards pregnancy self-disclosure, discrimination, and male allyship.

Pregnancy discrimination is currently among the most pressing areas of sexism in the workplace. At the same time, there is a growing public recognition that men can actively contribute to equity and inclusion as allies (e.g., #MeToo movement). Importantly, intervening as a male leader-ally can influence perceptions of observers in the organization. This study compared observers’ spontaneous cognitive-affective responses (803 observers; 1,668 responses) to pregnancy self-disclosure, interpersonal discrimination, and male allyship interventions of reiterating the organization’s equity and inclusion policy vs. confronting bias vs. highlighting the strengths of the pregnant target. Findings revealed that while observers thought the transgressor behaved inappropriately, many continued to harbor sexist thoughts, more of which were displayed when an ally confronted bias or did not intervene, as compared to when the ally highlighted strengths of the target. Most allyship interventions were well-received with the hybrid condition (confrontation + highlighting strengths) being seen as appropriate by most. This study demonstrates that the type of allyship intervention can critically influence perceptions of victims, transgressors, and allies as well as nudge observers to attend to the discrimination while considering the perspectives of all parties involved.

* Haley Bock is a current graduate student in the MS psychology program at Western

* Katie Winkelman is a Western alumna with a BA in communication studies and business minor