Messenger–Message Discordance: When Presenting Workplace Disparities, <i>Who</i> Speaks Up (and <i>How</i> ) Matters for Other-Interest and Self-Interest Attributions

Sharing messages about group-based disparities is an important strategy for raising awareness. However, not all messengers are evaluated alike. We predict that perceived motivations of messengers depend on <i>who</i> they are and <i>how</i> they speak up. Across one pilot and three pre-registered experiments (<i>N</i> = 2,240), we show that when messengers present group-based disparities in the workplace, their demographic identity and their message content jointly influence how they are perceived regarding self-interest and other-interest motives. We find a negative messenger-message discordance effect: White men are generally viewed as less other-interested and more self-interested than Black and female messengers when presenting statistics-only messages on workplace disparities. However, incorporating explicit personal advocacy against inequality mitigates less favorable interest perceptions for White men and boosts perceived other-interest for all messengers. The study further explores qualitative responses on motivation and provides insights into the nuanced dynamics of messenger perceptions considering demographic identities and message content.