Systemic Racism - Publications - Faculty & Research

10 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

In Empowering Black Voters, Did a Landmark Law Stir White Angst?

Hate—and How to Push Back How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at hbswk@hbs.edu. Image: HBSWK View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Apr 2022
Book

Racism, Colonialism, and Britain's Legacy of Violence

Britain’s 20th century empire was the largest in human history, with a quarter of the world’s land and nearly 700 million people. Yet the empire drew its strength from violence. That’s the conclusion Harvard Business School Professor Caroline Elkins draws in her new... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

30 Sep 2019
Book

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

2018 arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks after employees called the police to complain they were trespassing, even though they were just waiting for a business acquaintance. “Given the racist rhetoric and vitriol in the air right now, View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

rights leader and role model for millions of people around the world. How did he do it? Early in his career, Ali’s creativity and hard work helped him overcome significant obstacles. Ali used his growing fame to bring attention to racism... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

Web

Curriculum - Business & Environment

source of societal ills that range from inequality and systemic racism to climate change and labor market disruption. The goal of CATS is both to examine these criticisms and, more importantly, to... View Details

01 Sep 2023
News

Solving for Z

With nearly 20 years of experience as a senior human resources executive, Matthew Breitfelder (MBA 2002) has seen a lot of change in the corporate talent space. But what’s happening now looks like a tectonic generational shift. From his perch as global head of human... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Illustrations by Doug Chayka; Administration of Human Resource Programs; Government

10 Oct 2023
Blog Post

Policy Drivers for Environmental Justice: What Businesses Need to Know

which directly contributed to the segregation of neighborhoods. Understanding the role systemic racism has played is essential to EJ. For environmental policy to really be EJ, it needs to combat the View Details

09 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Climate Goals, Housing Policy, and Corporate R&D Collide, Social Good Can Emerge

For almost four years, Omar Asensio and his colleagues have been studying the impact of federal energy programs on low-income neighborhoods. The intersection of technology—artificial intelligence, in particular—and public policy has long been an area of focus for... View Details

Keywords: by Glen Justice

27 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

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

steps toward addressing institutional racism Companies have long used competition to motivate employees to think creatively and push themselves. Law firms, consultancies, and other adherents to the “up or out” philosophy aim to promote... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

02 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

A Rare Find in Health Care: A Simple Solution to Racial Inequity

George Floyd’s murder last year forced many people to recognize the systemic racism that pervades American institutions, from law enforcement to health care. Even so, identifying those inequities is... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

16 Sep 2020
Blog Post

Turning a Moment into a Movement: Interview with Anti-Racism Fund Co-Founders Kenneth and Kevin Chenault

current energy and passion around issues of racism in the US and make long-term change. The team transformed the Anti-Racism Fund GoFundMe project into a nonprofit organization, ARF, and then set off to make that organization the best it... View Details

02 Mar 2021
HBS Case

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

many people to acknowledge the systemic racism that pervades American society. Mihir Desai, the Mizuho Group Professor at Harvard Business School and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, was inspired to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Blog

What Black Executives Really Want

studied how across the world, for centuries, different groups of people have been marginalized. I thought I understood racism in America—but I did not. George Floyd's murder and other recent tragic events really brought the problem home.... View Details

08 Oct 2020
News

JPMorgan Chase Commits $30 Billion to Advance Racial Equity

America’s history,” Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon (MBA 1982) said in a release. “We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality, especially... View Details

14 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Building a Culture of Awareness and Accountability in your Organization

unkind to another. As Manso-Brown explains, “Racism is around us all the time without us doing anything. It is a system created for economic, political, and social reasons that privileges white folks and marginalizes people of color.”... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Web

Building a Culture of Awareness and Accountability in your Organization - Recruiting

“Racism is around us all the time without us doing anything. It is a system created for economic, political, and social reasons that privileges white folks and marginalizes people of color.” It’s important to understand that View Details

23 Sep 2020
News

HBS Action Plan for Racial Equity

This week, Dean Nohria shared the School’s Action Plan for Racial Equity in a letter to the HBS community. “The horrifying murder of George Floyd, and an all too long history of similar injustices, has spurred our collective awakening to the grave and continuing View Details

10 Feb 2021
Blog Post

What You Can Do to Create an Anti-Racist Organization

anti-racism to the workplace is critical because racism is not simply people being unkind to one another. As Manso-Brown explains “Racism is around us all the time without us doing anything. It is a system... View Details

18 Aug 2021
News

Alumni on the Black Lives Matter Movement

make the community better, you have to support it.” The Kraft gift, announced during Black History Month, is the largest donation from an individual that NCF has received to date. The gift “might inspire others to see the seriousness of View Details

19 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Black MBA Students Pen Letters to the HBS Community: Letter 5/5

Black students in our community have spent the last few weeks grappling with the weight of a devastating truth: that our country and society has undeniably and systemically failed Black communities – and the false narrative that being... View Details

Publications