06 Dec 2024

New Faculty Profiles: Ivy Onyeador

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HBS faculty comprises scholars and practitioners who bring leading-edge research, extensive experience, and deep insights into the classroom, to organizations, and to leaders across the globe. We asked new faculty at HBS about their background, their new roles, and their interests.

Ivy Onyeador, visiting fellow, Institute for Business in Global Society

What’s your area of research and what led you to it?
I am a social psychologist by training. In my research, I examine how people reason about diversity and discrimination with the aim of increasing people’s understanding of, and willingness to address, inequality. I am interested in how we can design organizations and society to promote and sustain equality.

As an immigrant to the United States from a predominantly Black country, my childhood experiences with race and racism were deeply perplexing to me. Some of my peers made assumptions about me because I was Black, but those assumptions were totally out of line with reality. My parents were limited in their ability to explain these dynamics to me. In college, I was first exposed to the empirical study of inequality and intergroup relations through research experiences and the many ways this work has been used to positively affect society through my coursework.

Where are you from?
I was born in Enugu, Nigeria, and raised in Los Angeles, California. I went to high school in Surprise, Arizona. Since then, I haven’t lived anywhere for longer than five years, so I consider “home” to be wherever I am.

What is something you like to do outside of your academic work?
I enjoy variety, so I am a big fan of the Peloton platform, trying new restaurants, and exploring new neighborhoods, cities, and countries.

What’s your favorite book, movie, or piece of art?
Untitled (2009) by Kerry James Marshall. I first encountered this painting in an African American women’s history class that I took during my senior year at Yale. I was struck by the painter’s piercing gaze and the depiction of self-representation and self-determination. I purchased a postcard print and still have it.

What will you be doing as a BIGS Fellow?
I will work on several projects that explore defensive responses to evidence of ongoing social and economic inequality and its consequences, including reduced support for policies that would increase economic equality and reduced willingness to engage in collective action to address racial inequality. I will collaborate with HBS faculty on projects related to defensive responding in the workplace and organizational diversity initiatives. I plan to seek opportunities for media training to catalyze my efforts to disseminate my work beyond the academy.

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