Brave or brash? Exploring metastereotypes of voicers and nonvoicers in the workplace

Purpose While sex discrimination and race discrimination are prevalent in the workplace, a relatively low proportion of those who experience it choose to voice. This paper aims to investigate why individuals choose to voice or not voice discrimination by exploring the role of metastereotypes – beliefs about what others think about a group one belongs to – with respect to voicing or not voicing discrimination at work. Design/methodology/approach Of the 475 participants surveyed, 34% (164 respondents) had experienced either race or sex discrimination. The metastereotypes of these 164 respondents who either voiced (31%) or did not voice (69%) sex or race discrimination were gathered and examined with respect to the themes and valence of the descriptors. Differences in the content and valence of metastereotypes were examined from different samples taken at two different time periods to explore the possible influence of social movements (#MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter). Findings These qualitative analyses provide new insights into how people making different choices regarding the voicing of their mistreatment believe they are viewed. Metastereotypes differed to some extent in content and valence depending on perceiver, source, type of discrimination and timing. Social implications This can assist in the development of strategies to encourage voicing with the ultimate goal of reducing workplace mistreatment. Originality/value This paper provides the critical first step for including metastereotypes in the model to predict voice in the workplace.