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UF researcher proves underrepresented groups experience more workplace bias

By Halle Burton  George Cunningham, a UF professor and researcher, conducted a study on workplace bias, finding managers are more likely to display an implicit bias towards minorities and underrepresented groups. Cunningham is chair of the UF Department of Sport Management, and his study was published in Frontiers in Psychology in November 2022. Working with his co-author, Cunningham analyzed self-identified managers and people in 22 other occupational designations to compare their implicit and explicit biases towards race, gender, disability and sexual orientation. “Once we saw that race, gender, disability and sexual orientation-based forms of mistreatment are all prevalent in the U.S. workforce, we determined this warranted examination of managers’ biases in these areas,” Cunningham said. The researchers found that managers held a moderate preference for majority groups. Additionally, the study shows these managers also expressed more bias than jobs working to better societal standards and environmental issues like educators and social scientists. Cunningham’s original question asked if managers convey biases that vary from other occupational codes and if this impacts the claims employees make. Not only did his study answer this with a resounding yes, but it further divides the focus of the bias on sectors of implicit and explicit attitudes. Cunningham said their study also showed a disconnect between managers’ explicit and implicit biases, especially with disabilities. Their responses indicated they explicitly didn’t believe they held biases against disabilities, but their implicit bias regarding disabled groups was the highest of all. “The more we’re aware of it, the more likely we are to take steps to help lessen the impact,” he said. “The bigger issue, though, is to change the way our society operates.”

Behind the scenes and before kickoff – are you covering what it takes to pull off the biggest sporting event in America?

This Sunday, close to 100 million people will be tuning in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in the biggest game of the year. The Super Bowl is the biggest, loudest and most expensive sporting event in America. But before the players take the field and kick-off at 6:30 PM on game day -  there’s a week worth of events and parties to host and control, tens of thousands of fans, celebrities and curious on-lookers to contend with and ensuring the week is entertaining, enjoyable and ultimately safe is also the top priority. And all of it takes months of planning in advance. And most importantly, handling all of these logistics, in the background and relatively unseen might be the biggest play of the week. If you are a journalist covering the Superbowl this week – then let our experts help. Jim Riordan initiated the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University in 2000. Jim is an expert in the areas of event operations, crowd management and sports administration. He has also worked several major sporting events including Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIV. Jim can help with your stories, share his experience and lend his expert perspective on what it takes to pull off an event of this size - to arrange an interview, simply click on his icon to book a time.

Fair Play: Sexual Violence and College Athletes

Since the 1990s, we have seen multiple high-profile, even fatal, cases of violence against women at the hands of male intercollegiate athletes. These events and others prompted the Office of Civil Rights to call upon universities to more appropriately investigate and sanction perpetrators of sexual assault. In April 2011, using Title IX as an imperative, the Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) as a call for universities to more swiftly and adequately address incidences of sexual violence by students. As universities started implementing or revamping programs to reduce sexual violence on campus, it became obvious there was a lack of current research on college athletics to inform their decisions. This led me to conduct my own research on sexual assault within intercollegiate athletics. I wanted to understand the ways in which former college athletes understand sexual assault, as well as their perceptions of their athletic department’s response to occurrences and prevention.  My research on sexual violence was first published in 2015 and again in 2018. Based on this research, in 2017-2018, I implemented a sexual violence prevention program with athletes from a variety of sports: men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling, softball, football, and women’s golf and tennis. That program, Fair Play: Sexual Violence Prevention for Athletes, was created because many athletes are leaders on their campuses and in their communities. While some research shows that some male athletes may be at higher rates for perpetrating sexual assault, we know that the vast majority of athletes are good students who want to help keep their fellow teammates, students, and community members safe. Fair Play teaches athletes about sexual assault, consent, and rape culture in sports, helps them re-examine traditional gender norms and roles, and gives them tools and skills to intervene and stop sexual violence before it happens. With grant funding from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, we collaborated with Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio (SARNCO) to facilitate Fair Play. Research done to assess the efficacy of the program is forthcoming in two journals. However, data indicates that, after participating in Fair Play, athletes are less likely to believe in rape myths, have a better understand of consent, and are able to identify and stop the spread of rape culture. In addition, Fair Play participants reported increased knowledge and ability to engage in bystander intervention, which is aimed at preventing violence before it happens. Fair Play is effective in its depth and breadth – participants attend 10 hours of programming – as well as the unique and active learning environment targeted specifically for athletes.  Kristy McCray, Ph.D., is an Otterbein assistant professor in sport management and a former rape crisis center executive director. McCray’s program focuses on college athletes as some research indicates that male intercollegiate athletes are more likely to hold sexually aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Click on her icon at the top to get in touch with Kristy. 

Privilege Creates a Different Starting Line in “Race to the Jobs”

College is a unique microcosm of society where students from a variety of backgrounds come together in one place. Many times, students have not been exposed to people from backgrounds that differ from their own. I consider this an opportunity to teach my students at Otterbein University about social inequality and privilege. In my Sociology of Sport course, I illustrate to students that the societal “playing field” isn’t always equal for everyone in visible or obvious ways. I use athletics as an entry point to teach them about the different privileges – or disadvantages – each of us have. I take students to the football field, where everyone starts at the 25 yard line facing the end zone. Standing in the end zone, I represent each student’s dream job or career path. Then I proceed to read statements out loud – and if that statement applies to them, students take a step forward or step back, depending on the directions given. My statements range from “if you have immediate family members who are doctors, lawyers, or other professionals, take one step forward” to “if you were ever called names or ridiculed because of your race, ethnicity, or social class background, take one step backward.” Each of the statements read are beyond the students’ control. Once I’m through reading all of the statements, I ask students to look around, noticing who is in front of them, who is behind them. Then they sprint to my position, and the first one to reach me is the winner of the race, representing the competition to the dream job.. However, through this activity, it’s clearly seen that not everyone had the same advantages as the others. Before they begin the race to me in the end zone,  ready to run toward their dream job, students are already noticing the advantages some have over others. It really begins to sink in once they look around and see how everyone is staggered across the field. There is no even starting line – we all start from positions on the field. This Race to the Jobs activity, originally conceived by social justice activist Paul Kivel, becomes a springboard in our class for a better understanding of our own privilege and how we can all help create more opportunities for those who need help to overcome an obstacle. Doing this active learning makes it that much more impactful and poignant. Taking a different approach to showing these issues can make a big difference in student’s perceptions. They open their minds up to new – and sometimes difficult or challenging concepts of privilege and oppression – becoming more self-aware. The students begin to see that, just as in our classroom discussions and course readings, not everyone can be a LeBron James, born into a relatively difficult situation, and rise to his level of success on luck or talent alone. We need to examine our own privilege because if we don’t know who we are, we will never see our blind spots. Kristy McCray, Ph.D., is an Otterbein assistant professor in sport management. Contact her if you have any questions or wish to arrange an interview by clicking on her icon at the top.