BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 35:346–359, 2013 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0197-3533 print/1532-4834 online DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2013.803969 Speaking the Language of Diversity: Spanish Fluency, White Ancestry, and Skin Color in the Distribution of Diversity Awards to Latinos Leigh S. Wilton, Diana T. Sanchez, and George F. Chavez Rutgers University Two studies investigated the combined effects of cultural practices, ancestry, and phenotype on ethnic categorization and the distribution of resources to minorities. Perceivers formed impressions of Latino internship candidates who varied in Spanish language fluency, White/European ancestry, and skin color. Spanish fluency influenced the distribution of minority resources to all targets, but only influenced the Latino categorization of targets who had White/European ancestry. The effect of Spanish fluency on minority resource distribution was explained by the White/European target's Latino categorization and perceived commitment to minority communities. We discuss why factors beyond racial/ethnic categorization may matter in minority resource distribution decisions. Correspondence should be sent to Leigh S. Wilton, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 53 Avenue E, Piscataway, NJ 08854. E-mail: lwilton@rci.rutgers.edu The long-standing controversy about Latinos and how to define Latino group membership has recently risen to the forefront of public debates (e.g., M. Castillo & Basu, 2012; Navarro, 2012; Wedge, 2012). For example, in a recent New York Times headline, Navarro (2012, p. 1) reported that “for many Latinos, racial identity is more culture than color,” and thus, conventional racial catego- ries in the United States based on physical appearance fail to adequately address Latinos. Indeed, the term Latino refers to a population that shares a common cul- tural heritage and language but not a common race or ancestry. Thus, the current government racial categories in the U.S. Census (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010) exclude Latinos from its list of recognized racial groups, which caused 18 million Latinos to choose not to identify with any race. Prominent in the discussions of Latino group membership were the roles of (a) the Spanish language, as a Latino cultural practice that demarcates Latino iden- tity; (b) White/European ancestry, as a factor that may moderate a person’s categorization as Latino; and (c) skin color as a feature of physical appearance that does not wholly characterize Latinos. The present research seeks to identify how these prototype cues (language fluency, ancestry, and skin color) influence Latino categorization and the distribution of minority resources in the context of diversity awards. Social categorization has a long and rich history as a key driver of many social-perceptual processes, including impression formation (Allport, 1954; Fiske, 1998; Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Macrae & Bodenhausen, 2000). In this vein, the categorization of Latino targets as either Latino or not (i.e., Latino categorization) is important because it should directly impact category-based judgments of Latinos, including whether they should receive minority resources such as diversity awards. However, recent evidence suggests that the cultural practice of Spanish fluency could have different effects on the categorization of and distribution of minority resources to Latino targets. For example, the discovery that the celebrated “Latino hire” of the Boston, Massachusetts, Fire Department Chief did not speak Spanish spurred controversy because many felt that his inability to speak Spanish challenged whether he should be considered an appropriate diversity hire, yet few questioned his categorization as a Latino (Wedge, 2012). In other words, a Latino person who does not speak Spanish may be categorized as Latino but disadvantaged in diversity award judgments.