THE IMPACT OF PERCEPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES ON THE MANAGERIAL MOBILITY OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS

Although African Americans have made progress in reaching middle and u pper management positions, a disproportionate number are stalled in lo wer levels of management where their remuneration often lags behind th at of Whites in comparable positions. Further penetration into executi ve ranks may depend largely on the perceptions and attitudes of employ ers. Negative stereotypes held by top managers may have a deleterious effect on African American opportunities. Among a sample of White midd le managers, Schein's (1973, 1975) descriptive index revealed a signif icant resemblance between ratings of Whites and ratings of managers (r ' = .54), whereas the resemblance between ratings of Blacks and rating s of managers was nonsignificant (r' = .17). Managers were perceived t o possess characteristics more commonly ascribed to Whites than to Afr ican Americans.