Publications
Publications
- 2021
- HBS Working Paper Series
Shaking Things Up: Disruptive Events and Inequality
By: Letian Zhang
Abstract
This paper develops a theory of how disruptive events could reduce racial and gender inequality in organizations. Despite pressure from regulators and advocates, racial and gender inequality in the workplace remains high. I theorize that because such inequality is often reinforced by organizational inertia, disruptive changes that shake up old hierarchies, break down routines, and shift culture could offer an opportunity for racial minority and women workers to advance. I test this theory by examining 37,343 mergers and acquisitions in the United States from 1971 to 2015. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find that although acquisitions lead to occupational reconfigurations that favor higher-skilled workers, they also improve the managerial representation of racial minorities and women and reduce racial and gender segregation in the acquired workplace. These findings suggest that certain radical organizational changes could significantly reduce racial and gender inequality.
Keywords
Inequality; Restructuring; Diversity; Equality and Inequality; Mergers and Acquisitions; Race; Gender
Citation
Zhang, Letian. "Shaking Things Up: Disruptive Events and Inequality." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-022, August 2019. (Revised May 2021.)
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