Research: Why Managers Deny Inequity in Their Own Organizations

The success of diversity initiatives — which are designed to address social inequities and ensure that all employees are treated equally — depends on the support of those in positions of structural power: which is to say, managers. But even those managers who generally support diversity initiatives often deny the existence of problems at their own organizations and therefore resist such initiatives. Consider the response of Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, when two of his executives, both women, told him that the company was paying men and women unequally. Benioff later recalled his response during a 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl: