The Impact of Perceptions and Stereotypes on the Managerial Mobility of African Americans

Abstract

Although African Americans have made progress in reaching middle and upper management positions, a disproportionate number are stalled in lower levels of management where their remuneration often lags behind that of Whites in comparable positions. Further penetration into executive ranks may depend largely on the perceptions and attitudes of employers. Negative stereotypes held by top managers may have a deleterious effect on African American opportunities. Among a sample of White middle managers, Schein's (1973, 1975) descriptive index revealed a significant resemblance between ratings of Whites and ratings of managers (r = .54), whereas the resemblance between ratings of Blacks and ratings of managers was nonsignificant (r = .17). Managers were perceived to possess characteristics more commonly ascribed to Whites than to African Americans.