The main objectives of DEI policies are to increase the representation of disadvantaged groups, reduce inequalities and improve the overall experience of minority employees. However, despite organizational efforts, the impact of DEI initiatives is far from overwhelming, and inequities persist between traditionally advantaged and disadvantaged group members. The aim of our research was to study the psychological impact of DEI practices and test whether the accumulation of DEI initiatives helped in reducing disparities in psychological outcomes between minority and majority employees. Especially, we intended to take an intersectional approach regarding the operationalization of minority and majority identities by taking into consideration not only their objective demographics but also their subjective social identities. We conducted a two-wave panel study targeting employees working in organizations with DEI policies in the US (N=602). At time 1, we asked participants to evaluate their organization’s DEI policy. Three weeks later, we measured the psychological experience (e.g., sense of inclusion) of these employees as well as impact on individual (e.g., job satisfaction) and organizational (e.g., reputation) outcomes. Our findings suggest that feeling subjectively part of a disadvantaged group interacts with race and gender on numerous psychological outcomes. When integrating DEI practices as a predictor, (1) women are positively affected by them, no matter how they feel subjectively; (2) DEI practices do not affect men who report feeling advantaged; (3) however, the men who felt disadvantaged, expressed negative psychological impact. We provide explanations to our findings including signaling and threat theories, discuss our limitations, suggest further research avenues, and offer practical implications for organizations to implement DEI policies effective in reducing disparities between minorities and majorities.

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