Can Pacific Peoples be labelled as talent?’ The prejudicial effects of societal stereotypes

There is an assumed prototype for talent, yet the stereotype of one’s ethnicities influences the prototype. Stereotypes are therefore a discriminating factor limiting people’s ability within the workforce. For Pacific Peoples in New Zealand, since the early migratory outset, they continue to feature heavily in deprivation statistics. Pacific People are New Zealand’s lowest median income earner, at the benefit of New Zealand’s society and economy. Although it is critical to examine the stereotypes of the various ethnicities in the high skilled workforce, stereotyping and the resultant discrimination are under-researched in the Talent Management field. Therefore, this research explores the effects of stereotypes in talent identification through the case of Pacific Peoples in New Zealand. It concludes that stereotypes negatively influence the decision-making process to identify talented employees. It contributes to establish diversity-oriented policies for policy makers and expand our knowledge on the prejudicial effects of societal stereotypes in the workforce.