Modupe Akinola, Columbia Business School
Modupe Akinola, Columbia Business School
Diversity Isn’t What it Used to Be
Diversity Isn’t What it Used to Be
Even well-intentioned leaders and organizations fall short in fostering inclusiveness. Akinola will share research exploring when discrimination is most likely to occur, where discrimination is most pronounced, and how discrimination is evolving. Specifically, she will present field research highlighting the psychological biases that lead to disparate outcomes for women and minorities. She will also present archival and experimental research detailing how organizational attention to novel axes of diversity, such as cognitive styles and personality traits, can displace efforts focused on traditional dimensions, such as race and gender. Finally, she will share research examining the biological factors that help explain how configurations of diversity affect group decision making. Collectively, the body of work Akinola will present points to individual- and organizational-level processes and practices that can affect the representation of women and minorities.