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The grant was awarded by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Foundation, and co-funded by the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The goal of the groups’ grant program is to identify evidence-based solutions to the problems of racism in the workplace.

In her abstract, Batz-Barbarich states: “Though the Jim Crow Era signs of, ‘Help-Wanted: Blacks Need Not Apply’ exist now only as stains on our history, subtle racism and signals of non-inclusivity continue to permeate most aspects of work, including perhaps the ‘help-wanted signs’ of today: job postings. Our proposal seeks to investigate the existence and power of race-(non)inclusive language within job descriptions that may cue belongingness and job-interest for job seekers of color. Because race-related language is understudied within organizational contexts, we use both inductive and deductive methods across three studies to achieve this goal. This research will have important practical and theoretical implications for increasing inclusion in HR systems and promoting the development of richer theories surrounding workplace experiences across race.”

This proposal was among four winning grant recipients announced by SIOP on April 15, 2021.