Members of high-status groups are threatened by pro-diversity organizational messages

•Pro-diversity (vs. neutral) messages seem unfair to whites, not minorities.•White men underwent a hiring scenario at a pro-diversity (vs. neutral) company.•We measured cardiovascular threat, discrimination concerns, interview impressions.•More threat & concerns, worse impressions in pro-diversity (vs. neutral) company•Findings were not moderated by several individual difference variables.

Members of high-status groups may perceive pro-diversity messages from organizations as threatening to their group's status. Two initial studies (N = 322) demonstrate that when imagining applying for a job, whites—and not ethnic/racial minorities—expressed more concerns about being treated unfairly and about anti-white discrimination when the company mentioned (vs. did not mention) its pro-diversity values. In a third experiment, white men (N = 77) participated in a hiring simulation. Participants applying to the pro-diversity company exhibited greater cardiovascular threat, expressed more concerns about being discriminated against, and made a poorer impression during the interview relative to white men applying to a neutral company. These effects were not moderated by individual differences in racial identification, racial attitudes, or system fairness beliefs. These findings suggest that high-status identities may be more sensitive to identity threats than commonly assumed, and that this sensitivity is robust to differences in higher-order beliefs and attitudes.