A study by the American Psychological Association suggests that using a “business case” justification to hire members of underrepresented groups can backfire. The study found that members of the LGBTQIA+ community, female STEM-field workers, and Black students who read business cases felt more judged based on their social identity compared to those who read “fairness cases”. Business case justifications for diversity are defined as mutual benefits for both the, company and their customers, while fairness cases are labeled as diversity being the right thing to do. Based on this survey, 80% of Fortune 500 companies gave a ‘business case’ justification while less than 5% gave a fairness justification. The researchers found that using business cases undermined respondents’ sense of belonging in the company, and this can increase respondents’ “social identity threat” or their concern that the company would judge them solely on their social identity.