Messenger–Message Discordance: When Presenting Workplace Disparities, Who Speaks Up (and How ) Matters for Other-Interest and Self-Interest Attributions

Sharing messages about group-based disparities is an important strategy for raising awareness. However, not all messengers are evaluated alike. We predict that perceived motivations of messengers depend on who they are and how they speak up. Across one pilot and three pre-registered experiments (N = 2,240), we show that when messengers present group-based disparities in the workplace, their demographic identity and their message content jointly influence how they are perceived regarding self-interest and other-interest motives. We find a negative messenger-message discordance effect: White men are generally viewed as less other-interested and more self-interested than Black and female messengers when presenting statistics-only messages on workplace disparities. However, incorporating explicit personal advocacy against inequality mitigates less favorable interest perceptions for White men and boosts perceived other-interest for all messengers. The study further explores qualitative responses on motivation and provides insights into the nuanced dynamics of messenger perceptions considering demographic identities and message content.