A field experiment: reducing interpersonal discrimination toward pregnant job applicants.

The current research targets 4 potential stereotypes driving hostile attitudes and discriminatory behaviors toward pregnant women: incompetence, lack of commitment, inflexibility, and need for accommodation. We tested the relative efficacy of reducing concerns related to each of the stereotypes in a field experiment in which female confederates who sometimes wore pregnancy prostheses applied for jobs in a retail setting. As expected, ratings from 3 perspectives (applicants, observers, and independent coders) converged to show that pregnant applicants received more interpersonal hostility than did nonpregnant applicants.