racial equality - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 2024
Case

The Health Equity Accelerator at Boston Medical Center

By: Susanna Gallani, Mary Witkowski and Katie Sonnefeldt

This case describes how Boston Medical Center, a hospital and safety net organization, changed its strategic approach to health equity after realizing that previous efforts were not sufficient to address the health disparities among their patients. In 2021, the Health... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Decisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Diversity; Race; Ethnicity; Urban Scope; Local Range; Equality and Inequality; Health Industry; Boston

Citation

Educators

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29 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 29, 2007

prominent South African leaders, like Nelson Mandela, and to the national soccer team. But by the mid-1990s, Surve, like many of his comrades, grew frustrated by the huge economic disparities that existed in South Africa, even though its progressive constitution... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

31 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why the Largest Minority Group Faces the Most Hate—and How to Push Back

American cities have experienced an alarming double-digit rise in hate crimes in recent years, due in part to factors like anti-Asian sentiment in the wake of the pandemic and racial strife following the murder of George Floyd. Now, new... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

10 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

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

As another election season approaches, American politics feels more polarized than ever, with racial tensions flaring in an uncertain economy. And a recent study parsing newly available data shows how a landmark Civil Rights-era law may... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

26 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates

When companies try to hire employees from specific ethnic or racial backgrounds to meet their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, an uncomfortable feeling often creeps into the process. Particularly among well-intentioned white... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

OneTen at Delta Air Lines: Catalyzing Family-Sustaining Careers for Black Talent (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

It was December 10, 2020, and Ed Bastian, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines (Delta), had just finished a meeting with Joanne Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, and Keyra Lynn Johnson, the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Training; Race; Equality and Inequality; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Job Design and Levels; Air Transportation Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

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16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

Delta employees—which was considered a bold action by a high-profile CEO, Hill says. That summer he went on a “listening and learning tour,” holding in-house sessions with Delta’s Black workers and meetings with numerous national racial... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

were less likely to appoint a Black teammate to a leadership position, compared with those who weren’t exposed to this research. Those hearing the business case were also less likely to agree that racially diverse teams perform better. In... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

04 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

Want to Make Diversity Stick? Break the Cycle of Sameness

a board member would be replaced by someone from the same demographic, though the correlation was not quite as strong, Chang says, in part perhaps because board appointments tend to be more in flux, without the strict one-to-one replacements found in the judiciary.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

27 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Share Their DEI Data (Even When It’s Unflattering)

increases brand attitude, and the company is seen as having more commitment to diversifying the workforce.” US law requires companies with more than 100 employees to report their workforce’s gender, race, and ethnicity by job category to the View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta

03 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

When Showing Know-How Backfires for Women Managers

their daily activities and practicing intentionality when budgeting their time. “Ask yourself: ‘Am I doing a task for a reason related to impression management, and is it that important?’” she says. You Might Also Like: How Racial Bias... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Retail; Consumer Products

03 Jan 2023
Book

Confront Workplace Inequity in 2023: Dig Deep, Build Bridges, Take Collective Action

back up and running, many women are asking: What’s it going to take to effect real change? According to Tina Opie, visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and author of Shared Sisterhood: How to Take Collective Action for Racial and... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

imprisoned come from predominantly minority communities. In 2018, Black Americans were incarcerated in state prisons at nearly six times the rate of White Americans, research shows. Many prison reform advocates say long-standing disparities, such as View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

17 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Women Receive Harsher Punishment at Work Than Men

branch manager or executive roles within a firm, women and men were held to the same standards and punished in comparable ways. The researchers observed the same phenomenon with racial minorities, with African-American men punished more... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

02 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Corporate Tax Cuts Don't Increase Middle Class Incomes

more money in their pockets. Other factors that contribute to income disparity are more based in societal issues or on how companies go about their business. For example, large companies may pay more for a similar job than a smaller firm; lower relative salaries can... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

22 Feb 2018
Book

The New History of American Capitalism

scholars studying racialization as an enduring American strategy for the coercion and control of labor, particularly African American labor. Race and capitalism is an expanding area, reaching subjects as varied Jim Crow, migration, urban... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

31 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Can a ‘Basic Bundle’ of Health Insurance Cure Coverage Gaps and Spur Innovation?

replace their plans entirely with upgraded coverage—or even whether to allow supplemental coverage. Some countries, like Canada, block supplemental health insurance on the notion that all people should have equal access to care regardless... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Insurance; Health

08 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Representation Matters: Building Case Studies That Empower Women Leaders

classroom directly impacts not only how students learn, but how they see themselves. With only two years to soak in these cases as an MBA student, academic institutions have a short-but-critical time to prepare women for a world where “leader” still View Details

Keywords: by Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg

Publications