EGAL’s 2024 Research Convening
A Presentation Recap From our Research Grant Recipients
Kicking off the proceedings, Erica Bailey, an assistant professor at Berkeley Haas, delved into her project titled “Can’t or Won’t? How Beliefs about Trait Immutability Impact Leadership Pathways for Women.” Erica elucidated the disparity between desired leadership attributes and societal perceptions, highlighting agency and communality as pivotal traits. She shed light on the tendency to associate men with higher agency, casting them as more suitable for leadership roles. Erica’s research findings challenged these norms, revealing shifting perceptions towards women’s leadership capabilities.
Following Erica, Julia Schroeder took the stage to discuss her research endeavor, “Bridging the Gender Divide via Conversation.” Her study centered on societal polarization, exploring how individuals of differing genders navigate disagreement and anticipate each other’s reactions. Julia examined the influence of various conversation mediums (audio, video, and text) on participant experiences and outcomes. The intricacies of her study design, alternating between joint and separate conversations, provided valuable insights into gender dynamics during discourse.
Douglas Guilbeault presented “Online Images Amplify Gender Bias,” shedding light on bias in the digital era and the prevalence of visual culture. Guilbeault and his team investigated the evolution of gender bias in image-centric societies, contrasting it with textual communication. His research underscored the persistence of gender bias in online imagery, emphasizing the need for gender-neutral representations. Notably, his work prompted action from the Wikipedia Research Foundation, prompting revisions from a Wikipedia editor to not only add an image of a woman on the mechanic’s page, but also dedicate a section highlighting the role of women in WWII in the United States; while the men were battling, a majority of the mechanics building and repairing machinery for the war efforts were women.
Przemyslaw Jeziorski introduced his project, “Building Human Capital Under Limited Property Rights,” which examines the influence of ownership rights on business training effectiveness among small business owners. The training, administered to a diverse range of retail stores, aimed to empower female owners with more efficient operational methods. However, Przemyslaw noted that despite efforts, the training yielded significantly lower effectiveness for female store owners across all areas except bookkeeping.
Merrick Osborne presented his research “Motivated by Mutability: The Role of Status Hierarchy Mutability in Promoting Organizational Voice,” delving into individuals’ pursuit of organizational status and the obstacles they face due to self-doubt. Merrick’s research raised critical questions about identifying and addressing mutability in the workplace, advocating for equal opportunities for individuals of all status levels to pursue advancement.
Antonia Paredes-Haz shared insights from her project, “Can Dictatorships Improve Women’s Representation? Evidence from Chile’s Democratic Transition,” exploring the historical impact of Chilean dictatorships on women’s political participation. Antonia’s presentation offered valuable context on past political efforts and outlined future research directions.
Analexis Glaude discussed her collaborative project, “The Intersection of Race and Gender on Creativity and Innovation,” conducted with Merrick Osborne and Sa-Kiera Hudson. Their research illuminated societal perceptions of creativity and innovation across different demographic intersections, shedding light on disparities in how these traits are valued.
Concluding the presentations, Paul Vicinanza presented “A Network-Based Field Experiment to Foster Inclusion and Belonging,” which examined the role of social networks in workplace inequality. Paul’s study, utilizing email and HR data alongside employee surveys, uncovered significant racial disparities in feelings of inclusion and belonging at UC Berkeley, underscoring the need for workplace improvements.
EGAL’s 2024 Research Convening not only showcased diverse and critical research but also fostered an engaging dialogue between the presenters and attendees. Following the presentations, a Q&A session allowed the audience to delve deeper into the intricacies of each project, prompting the researchers with insightful questions and sparking discussions on potential future studies and collaborations.
The day concluded with a mixer, providing a relaxed atmosphere for participants to network, exchange ideas, and reflect on the insights shared. This informal gathering was a highlight for many, as it allowed for personal connections to be forged between researchers, practitioners, and students alike, all united in their commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through scholarly inquiry.
The conversations initiated at this event are just the beginning, and we look forward to seeing how they evolve into future initiatives and collaborations that continue to challenge and reshape our understanding of these important issues!
