‘Think‐Leader—Think‐Who?’ The Role of Motivated Closed‐Mindedness and Positive Intergroup Contact on Secondary Transfer Effect

ABSTRACT Prejudicial access to leadership positions for members of groups that are perceived as counterstereotypical or unfit (i.e., women, Black people, homosexuals) for leadership positions in organisations is still a matter of concern. This cross‐sectional study was conducted in Italy (a context wherein these three groups are underrepresented in leadership roles) on a sample of workers and addressed whether the outcomes of positive contact with women as managers could be extended towards secondary outgroups of Black/homosexual managers. Evidence supported the expectation that the positive target‐focused outcomes of contact with women managers in participants characterised by high need for cognitive closure (NCC) would be translated into more favourable attitudes towards Black and homosexual managers not involved in the contact experience. Implications of results concerning the reduction of inequalities in the workplace and changes in individuals' mindsets were discussed. Specifically, the eventual tertiary effects of positive contact with counterstereotypical women in managerial positions in challenging high NCC individuals' mindsets, thus smoothening their tendency to be prejudice‐prone, were discussed.