Black applicants’ reaction to affirmative action plans in Brazil. The influence of psychological empowerment

Purpose Despite the presence of affirmative action policies aimed at promoting equality and diversity among the native Brazilian Blacks, it was observed that many Black applicants still continue to encounter challenges in securing employment and career advancement, leading to a sense of exclusion and disengagement. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the Black applicants perceive and respond to affirmative action plans designed to create fair opportunities. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative research method in line with positivism research philosophy. Survey research design was used due to the nature of the study. The population of the study is 25,467, which is the total number of Nigerian graduates staying in Brazil and holding valid Brazil visas at the time of the study, and the information was obtained from the Brazil embassy in Nigeria. The study used stratified random sampling to improve representativeness and reduce bias because of the widespread presence of the respondents across the 26 states in Brazil, while a sample size of 379 was determined through Krejcie and Morgan’s sample size formula. A questionnaire was designed and administered via Google Forms to elicit information from the respondents, and the items of the questionnaire for each variable were adapted from past studies. The study used descriptive statistics to analyse the demographic information of the respondents and items of the questionnaire, while inferential statistics via partial least squares were used to analyse the formulated hypotheses. Findings This study found that Black applicants react positively to affirmative action plans and that psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between Black applicants’ reaction and affirmative action plans. Originality/value This study examined the perception and experience of Nigerians towards affirmative action plans in Brazil. Additionally, since almost all the previous studies in this area focused on the Western countries, this study not only introduces psychological empowerment as a mediating variable but also stretches the scope of the study from Western countries to Africa and Nigeria in particular.