in-group bias

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The tendency for people to favor (promote, include) those who are similar to them. In the business world, this in-group bias is problematic because it reinforces stereotypes and inequality. However, while it is a common tendency, not everyone is allowed to advocate for their own group. Sometimes when women and minorities promote their own group, it garners criticism from others.

In the U.S., there is still a power and status gap between men and women and between whites and nonwhites. High-status groups, mainly white men, are given freedom to deviate from the status quo because their competence is assumed based on their membership in the high-status group. In contrast, when women and nonwhite leaders advocate for other women and nonwhites, it highlights their low-status demographics, activating the stereotype of incompetence, and leads to worse performance ratings.
--"Women and minorities are penalized for promoting diversity", Harvard Business Review, March 23, 2016.

March 27, 2016