When a Star Shines Too Bright: High-Status Minority Member Decreases Diversity in Hiring

The current research examines the potential downside of hiring a high-status minority member—a “star” employee, professor, or athlete. We suggest that organizations with a higher-status minority member are less likely to hire more minority members in the future, and further argue that this effect is specific to high-status (vs. low-status) minority members. We analyzed hiring decisions of Major League Baseball (MLB) teams from 1988 and 2010. The results suggest that teams with a higher maximum salary of minority players hired significantly fewer minority players in the next draft. The higher average status of minority players did not lead to the same effect. People often talk about individuals who “break the ceiling” – the first Black president or the first female Supreme Court justices – as evidence for progress on equality. Our findings, however, provide evidence for an unintended consequence of having a “star” minority member in organizations.