Race & Gender Stigmatization Effects in Perceptions of KB Jackson’s Confirmation

• In Event: Race, Judging, and the Courts

Abstract

Some critics have argued that race- and gender- conscious selection processes cause unintentional consequences, such as stigmatization, i.e., the perception that the beneficiary group is less qualified for the relevant position. This study attempts to determine whether there might be a stigmatization effect in the selection of high-ranking government positions, specifically, for a federal judgeship. To do so, I fielded a survey experiment while President Biden was considering a nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. The experiment draws on the fact that Biden pledged to appoint a Black woman to the first Supreme Court vacancy, which some but not all of the public was aware of. In essence, the appointment was effectively closed to all but Black women, which, some theories predict, could stigmatize the eventual appointee. The experiment comprises two treatments: telling respondents about President Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, and identifying then-Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (KBJ) as a Black woman. This design allows me to observe the effect of notice about a candidate’s being chosen via an affirmative action quota process on people’s evaluation of the candidate selected through that process. Another specification further uses the notification about the Biden promise as an instrument for the independent variable of interest: knowledge about the Biden promise, thus identifying its causal effect on evaluations of the candidate.

Author

• Kevin Cope, University of Virginia