Q&A with Sandy Campbell, PhD Candidate

EGAL Researcher Profile

Sandy Campbell is a PhD Candidate in the Management of Organizations group at Berkeley Haas and one of the recipients of EGAL’s 2021 Research Grants. Her research explores how the salience of gender identities affects the types of awards women are granted in organizations, building from findings that women who win awards get less money and prestige. Her research also seeks to understand the effect that receiving service awards has on subsequent performance.

Prior to coming to Haas, Sandy spent a year at the UCSD Rady School of Management working with Professor Uri Gneezy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Policy and Management and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied under Professors George Loewenstein and Silvia Saccardo.

What inspired you to conduct the type of DEI research that you do?

I started graduate school with research interests in the domain of judgment and decision making and behavioral economics. Within the first few months of being at Berkeley, I learned that my experiences as an east Asian female navigating the world didn’t have to be amorphous, and could be turned into concrete, testable research theories. This realization came about largely due to the influence of my incredibly diverse peer cohort in micro-organizational behavior at Berkeley. I couldn’t ask for a better set of people to challenge and inspire me.

How have findings from your research in the past influenced your own perspectives and leadership approach?

While my research has certainly influenced my perspectives and leadership approach, it is the body of robust, replicable research created by the efforts of many amazing DEI researchers that has truly made the difference. I am hyper aware of the teachings from the DEI literature as I navigate my interactions in the world, and as I mentor the students I work with. Perhaps most critically, I’ve learned to speak up when I see instances of exclusion or discrimination, and have learned what a difference this can make to affected groups.

Who is a notable Equity Fluent Leader who inspires you? What are the traits that make them such an effective leader?

I’m not sure if he counts as notable, but Uri Gneezy is an Equity Fluent Leader who inspires me. He’s someone who doesn’t talk much about how he supports diversity, understanding that talk is cheap. He instead demonstrates his commitment to promoting DEI through his actions, using his considerable amount of influence to ensure that it is a consideration in every critical decision. It is both refreshing and inspiring to see what it looks like when someone with power actually cares about DEI.