Publications

July–August 2013
Article

The Costs of Racial 'Color Blindness'

By: Michael I. Norton and Evan P. Apfelbaum

The article looks at research on people's attitudes and behaviors with respect to noticing and referring to a person's race. It explains the 2013 study, in which participants played a "Guess Who?" style game of asking yes-or-no questions about a group of faces... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Race; Attitudes

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Jenny (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Jenny (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-050, we learn that Jenny's boss is woman who thought the entire incident was funny. Jenny wonders whether to confront her boss about her discomfort with the situation. View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Employees; Gender; Conflict and Resolution

March 2007
Article

Gender Effects and Stock Market Reactions to the Announcement of Top Executive Appointments

This study uses Kanter's token status theory to link announcements of top executives to shareholder reactions, highlighting possible gender effects. Using a sample of top executive announcements from 1990 to 2000, our results show that investor reactions to the... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Management Succession; Gender; Management Teams

31 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 31

the constraints and opportunities of their representation structure are reflected in the micro-interactions, the broad improvisations, and the resulting substantive and relational outcomes. Looking Up and Looking Out: Career Mobility Effects of View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

11 Feb 2022
Lecture

Explaining the Persistence of Gender Inequality: The Work-Family Narrative as a Social Defense Against the 24/7 Work Culture

By: Irene Padavic and Robin J. Ely

Are women’s family responsibilities the reason for their stalled advancement?

Conventional wisdom says “yes.” But is it true? When companies create solutions to address work-life conflict instead of rethinking the 24/7 work culture, they find their... View Details

Keywords: Gender; Equality and Inequality; Work-Life Balance

2022
Working Paper

Beliefs about Gender Differences in Social Preferences

By: Christine L Exley, Oliver P. Hauser, Molly Moore and John-Henry Pezzuto

While there is a vast (and mixed) literature on gender differences in social preferences, little is known about believed gender differences in social preferences. This paper documents robust evidence for believed gender differences in social preferences. Across a wide... View Details

Keywords: Social Preferences; Gender; Behavior; Attitudes; Values and Beliefs

January 4, 2020
Article

The 10 Commitments Companies Must Make to Advance Racial Justice

By: Mark R. Kramer

In the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death in Minneapolis, major corporations have been voicing their support for racial justice in the United States. But we are way past the point when words alone suffice. Actions are needed. Corporations can and should make 10... View Details

Keywords: Racial Justice; Racial Equity; Race; Equality and Inequality; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

Register to Read

Spring 2021
Article

Whose Job Is It Anyway? Co-Ethnic Hiring in New U.S. Ventures

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

We explore co-ethnic hiring among new ventures using U.S. administrative data. Co-ethnic hiring is ubiquitous among immigrant groups, averaging about 22.5% and ranging from <2% to >40%. Co-ethnic hiring grows with the size of the local ethnic workforce, greater... View Details

Keywords: Hiring; Job Creation; E-Verify; Immigration; Selection and Staffing; Ethnicity; Entrepreneurship

November 2020 (Revised June 2022)
Case

Community-First Public Safety

By: Mitchell B. Weiss and Sarah Mehta

How many police officer positions to fund? In August 2020, the question facing St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, which might have seemed routine to another mayor at another time in another place, was anything but. A pandemic had rendered the city some $19-$34 million short... View Details

Keywords: Race; Law Enforcement; Governance; Decision Making; Safety; Social Issues; Public Administration Industry; United States; Minnesota; Saint Paul

2016
Working Paper

PathBreakers? Women's Electoral Success and Future Political Participation

By: Sonia Bhalotra, Irma Clots-Figueras and Lakshmi Iyer

We investigate whether the event of a woman being competitively elected as a state legislator encourages the subsequent political participation of women, using a regression discontinuity design on constituency level data from India. We find that female incumbents are... View Details

Keywords: Political Participation; Women; Candidates; Gender Bias; Backlash; Minority Representation; Regression Discontinuity; India; Prejudice and Bias; Political Elections; Gender; Public Administration Industry; India

SSRN

December 2008
Article

The Political Economy of 'Natural' Disasters

By: Charles Cohen and Eric D. Werker

Natural disasters occur in a political space. Although events beyond our control may trigger a disaster, the level of government preparedness and response greatly determines the extent of suffering incurred by the affected population. We use a political economy model... View Details

Keywords: History; Demographics; Natural Disasters; Policy; Economy; Government and Politics

July 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Andrea Jung: Empowering Avon Women (A)

By: William W. George, Diana Mayer and Andrew N. McLean

In October 2005 Andrea Jung is coping with a 30% decline in Avon's stock price--the biggest test of her leadership since she became CEO in 2000. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Price; Stocks; Crisis Management; Gender

September 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Guinness PLC

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Grant Kelley

Changing demographics, new types of competition, and new attitudes toward alcoholic beverages force the company to rethink priorities. View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Demographics; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

Article

Cultural Diversity at Work: The Moderating Effects of Work Group Perspectives on Diversity

By: R. J. Ely and D. A. Thomas

Keywords: Perspective; Groups and Teams; Jobs and Positions; Diversity

May 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Motorola-Penang

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

S.K. Ko managed Motorola's Penang, Malaysia factory, producing telecommunications components and equipment. As a female manager of a multi-ethnic and labor-intensive plant in Asia, Ko faced a number of challenges. She had already promoted quality circles and quality... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Transformation; Decision Making; Ethnicity; Gender; Training; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Technology Industry; Malaysia

October 2021
Supplement

Diversifying P&G's Supplier Base (B)

By: Kris Ferreira, Kym Lew Nelson, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Sarah Mehta

This (B) case accompanies the (A) case of the same title. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Demographics; Diversity; Ethnicity; Race; Fairness; Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry; United States; Ohio

18 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 18

that demographic stability affects the community composition of organizational forms, and we also investigate arguments about a community's income distribution, age distribution, population trends, geographic sprawl, and commuter... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Magazine Luiza: Building a Retail Model of "Courting the Poor"

By: Frances X. Frei and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Describes the innovative retail model of the Brazilian firm Magazine Luiza. Magazine Luiza enables low-income consumer credit by applying a flexible and nuanced evaluation system. Additionally, its dedication to customer service, employee motivation, and progressive... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology; Income; Innovation and Management; Success; Customer Focus and Relationships; Credit; Retail Industry; Brazil