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New research on workplace diversity from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including racial and ethnic diversity, social and economic diversity, and gender-based diversity.
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Who Has Potential? For White Men, It’s Usually Other White Men

by Dina Gerdeman

Companies struggling to build diverse, inclusive workplaces need to break the cycle of “sameness” that prevents some employees from getting an equal shot at succeeding, says Robin Ely. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Four Women Made Miami More Equitable for Startups

by Carolyn DiPaolo

A case study by Rosabeth Moss Kanter examines what it takes to break gender barriers and build thriving businesses in an emerging startup hub. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Inclusive Managers Create Glass-Shattering Organizations

by Kristen Senz

Gender equity offers a new source of competitive advantage. In Glass Half-Broken, Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg provide advice for companies working toward parity. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Salary Negotiations: A Catch-22 for Women

by Kristen Senz

Too assertive or too nice? New research from Julian Zlatev probes the lose-lose dynamics that penalize women in negotiations and perpetuate gender inequity. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?

by Michael Blanding

A new Harvard Business School case by Mihir Desai examines the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, and asks difficult questions about what reparations America owes to its Black citizens. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security

by Rachel Layne

Military enlistment in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack shows the far-reaching effects of racial violence and disenfranchisement, says research by Marco Tabellini. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Bollywood, Skin Color, and Sexism: The Role of the Film Industry in Emboldening and Contesting Stereotypes in India after Independence

by Sudev Sheth, Geoffrey Jones, and Morgan Spencer

Analysis of interviews with Bollywood producers and actors shows the extent of biases in the film industry during the decades after India’s independence in 1947. Gender stereotyping has remained a noteworthy feature of films, and bias towards light skin has only intensified.

Fostering Authenticity and Employee Engagement at John Deere

As the first Black female factory manager to lead a John Deere plant, Rosalind Fox must figure out how to build relationships with her staff, who are mostly white men. Harvard Business School senior lecturer Tony Mayo discusses the pressure on Fox to assimilate into the dominant culture, her decision to lean into her authentic self, and the deep connection between employee engagement and authenticity in his case, “Rosalind Fox at John Deere.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Has #MeToo Changed How Hollywood Hires?

by Rachel Layne

Sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein united women in the film industry. But has the message of the #MeToo movement reached men? Research by Hong Luo and colleague. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Using Empathy and Curiosity to Overcome Differences

Bill Riddick, an African-American community leader and counselor, must find a way to bridge the divide between Black and white community leaders, who are on opposing sides of school integration in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971. Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino and Jeffrey Huizinga explain how empathy and curiosity can foster understanding in divisive situations in their case, “Bill Riddick and the Durham S.O.S. Charrette.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Hate Crime Increases with Minoritized Group Rank

by Mina Cikara, Vasiliki Fouka, and Marco Tabellini

Attitudes and behaviors toward social categories are not fixed but vary depending on perceived group size and rank. In the United States, an increase in a group’s size-based rank relative to those of other minority groups is associated with greater likelihood of being targeted with hate crimes.

How Do We Sustain Organization Diversity?

by James Heskett

Can workforce diversity take hold without inclusion? James Heskett reflects on one company's high-profile struggle to bring in more Black executives. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Hospital Allocation and Racial Disparities in Health Care

by Amitabh Chandra, Pragya Kakani, and Adam Sacarny

Black Americans experience disparities in health outcomes in the United States relative to other demographic groups. This study of heart attack sufferers over two decades develops a framework to examine the allocation of health care and the effectiveness of medical treatments, including beta-blockers and other technologies.

Biased Sampling of Early Users and the Direction of Startup Innovation

by Ruiqing Cao, Rembrand Koning, and Ramana Nanda

New ventures catering to female customers should be aware that the underrepresentation of women among early users on digital platforms can reduce the venture’s growth and chances of survival. As a result of gaining fewer early users, these ventures reduce future product development and are less likely to raise VC funding.

The Challenges of Commercializing Fertility

Entrepreneur Christy Jones wants to create a venture to help women preserve their eggs and postpone motherhood. But what would an egg-freezing service sell—and to whom? Debora Spar discusses the challenges of commercializing fertility in a new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

by Dina Gerdeman

To promote the greatest safety, public health officials should target their pandemic messaging to men differently than to women. Research by Vincent Pons and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Can Being the ‘Token’ Give Women and Minorities a Competitive Edge?

by Danielle Kost

Underrepresented professionals are more likely to choose predominantly male or white workgroups if it helps their ideas stand out, according to research by Edward H. Chang and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Don’t More Organizations Understand the Power of Diversity and Inclusion?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: Diversity in business leadership is certainly an enviable social goal, but does it improve company performance? James Heskett's readers look for the research evidence. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

When Do Experts Listen to Other Experts? The Role of Negative Information in Expert Evaluations for Novel Projects

by Jacqueline N. Lane, Misha Teplitskiy, Gary Gray, Hardeep Ranu, Michael Menietti, Eva C. Guinan, and Karim R. Lakhani

Evaluators of early-stage scientific proposals tend to systematically focus on the weaknesses of proposed work rather than its strengths, according to evidence from two field experiments.

Gender Differences in COVID-19 Related Attitudes and Behavior: Evidence from a Panel Survey in Eight OECD Countries

by Vincent Pons, Vincenzo Galasso, Paola Profeta, Michael Becher, Sylvain Brouard, and Martial Foucault

Survey evidence from eight countries indicates strong gender differences in people’s belief that COVID-19 represents a serious health risk and in their agreement and compliance with restraining policy measures.