Credit Where Credit is Due?: Race, Gender, and Discrimination in the Credit Scores of Business Startups
Introduction Access to sufficient and affordable credit is a key determinant of a business startup’s ability to finance projects and pursue growth opportunities. An entrepreneur’s creditworthiness is often assessed using their credit score, which has been lauded for expanding access to credit and financing to credit-worthy business owners. However, research also suggests the credit-scoring process…
Read MoreThe Mixed Effects of Online Diversity Training
Introduction One-time diversity training is a common tool deployed by more than half of mid-size and large organizations seeking to promote equality in the workplace. However, the existing body of research on the effectiveness of diversity training is limited by a lack of field experiments and the difficulty of identifying and measuring objective behavioral outcomes.…
Read MoreDiversity Thresholds: How social norms, visibility, and scrutiny relate to group composition
Introduction As institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) efforts have become increasingly prevalent, public scrutiny (critical attention paid to particular behaviors) has increasingly been recognized as an effective tool to encourage such efforts. The #OscarSoWhite critique of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is one such example. Although previous scholarship has shown…
Read MoreHow to Lead Your Company as a True Ally
Introduction When Carter G. Woodson, the Black historian refered to as the Father of Black History, launched Negro History Week in 1926, he understood that the celebration of African American history and scholarship could not just be a one-week act. Instead, he insisted that the goal should be “studying the Negro throughout the school year,…
Read MoreThe Bias of ‘Professionalism’ Standards
Introduction In the midst of widescale evidence of natural-hair discrimination in the workplace and in schools, some states, in 2019, began to outlaw this form of discrimination. There is the story of the Black student who was told to cut his hair or he would not be allowed to graduate, and another of a Black woman who had her…
Read MoreWhy Diverse Teams are Smarter
Introduction Until recently, workplace diversity was primarily perceived as a tool for enhancing corporate profitability. It was understood that private corporations that excelled in enhancing diversity based on race, ethnicity, and gender generally had more significant financial outcomes, particularly in terms of net income growth and return on economic equity. Yet, recent research has explored…
Read MoreCommon Goals and Golden Opportunities: Evaluations of Diversity Education in Academic and Organizational Settings
Introduction In this paper, Dr. Carol T. Kulik and Dr. Loriann Roberson investigate the effects of diversity education interventions across different learning outcomes and contexts. In conducting their literature review, Kulik and Roberson aimed to answer two questions: Does diversity education affect participant diversity knowledge, diversity attitudes, and diversity skills? Do these effects vary by…
Read MoreBest Practices or Best Guesses? Assessing the Efficacy of Corporate Affirmative Action and Diversity Policies
Introduction Over the past several decades, there has been an increase in efforts to diversify the American corporate workforce. In 2018, the employment search engine Indeed saw an 18% increase in diversity and inclusion job postings from the previous year, and a 2017 report indicated that about $8 billion is spent annually on diversity training.…
Read MoreFailure is not an option for Black women: Effects of organizational performance on leaders with single versus dual-subordinate identities
Introduction In 2009, the number of Black women leading Fortune 500 companies was one. Today, that number is zero, even as the number of Fortune 500 female CEOs hit an all-time record of thirty-seven this year. How are we to contend with this seeming contradiction? Dr. Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations…
Read MoreAddressing Racism in the Organization: The Role of White Racial Affinity Groups in Creating Change
Introduction The authors of this study examine the role of racial affinity groups or caucuses in understanding institutional racism and transforming an institution towards antiracism and racial equity. They trace the development, execution, and operation of a white antiracism caucus that was facilitated by the two authors at a social service agency. They found that…
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