Gender and Diversity Issues
Whether it's in building a new organization or realizing the most productive way to manage an existing workforce, one key element has always been to understand gender differences and diversity issues. Researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business have explored career paths, corporate cultures, and the role of stereotypes, among other topics.
Information compiled by Jackson Library on women executives and career tracks.
Research on Gender and Diversity Issues
New Take on Affirmative Action
Individuals who oppose affirmative action may do so because they're more worried about disadvantaging their group than about benefiting a minority group, says researcher Brian Lowery who is developing a new take on affirmative action. Details
Diverse Backgrounds and Personalities Can Strengthen Groups
Groups with diverse functional expertise, education, or personality can increase performance by enhancing creativity or group problem-solving. In contrast, more visible diversity, such as race, gender, or age, can have negative effects unless it's managed properly, says Margaret Neale. Details
Good News and Bad for Women's Careers
Women across the board seem to be enjoying greater parity with men-except in "good-old-boy companies," where a woman's personal style and needs for work/family balance may clash with organizational expectations, values, and demands. Details
Tempered Radicals
They are under-the-radar rebels who lead social change from within large corporations by taking advantage of "small wins." And these tempered radicals can make a big difference in their organizations. Details
When First Impressions Flop: The Power of Getting a Second Chance
Many people can overcome a bad first impression if they're given a second chance. But, says professor Jerker Denrell, human nature and many corporate environments make it very hard to get that second chance. Details
Racial Stereotypes Can Be Unconscious but Reversible
Racial stereotypes can creep into the subconscious without warning, coloring decisions even by people who disavow any type of prejudice. Details
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Newcomers Improve Group Performance
When newcomers join a group, their presence can cause stress and even present problems for older group members who ally with them, but Professor Margaret Neale says the pain is worth the gain. Details
In the Company of Women
How does gender shape the early evolution of small companies? Observers have long noted that women are underrepresented in the young, fast-growing firms that dot Silicon Valley. Now, a long term study of high-tech startups identifies factors that can predict how hospitable firms are to women and challenges the common assumption that access for women is uniformly low across technology firms. Details
Diversity and Work Group Performance
A little employee conflict can be a good thing. Having employees from diverse organizational backgrounds or those with informational diversity can stir constructive conflict around the task at hand. Professor Margaret Neale says this is the type of conflict absolutely should be engendered in organizations. Details
How do White Males Fare in the Heterogeneous Workplace?
As greater numbers of women, ethnic minorities, and other "nontraditional" employees join the workforce, the increasing heterogeneity of employee groups has had a greater negative effect on white males than on nonwhites or women, researchers say. Details
Related Reading
The Pain is Worth the Gain
Katie Liljenquist, Katherine W. Phillips, Margaret A. Neale
forthcoming
Women's Careers: The Impact of Sex and Gender Identity on Career Attainment
Charles A. O'Reilly III; Olivia A O'Neill
GSB Working Paper No. 1775,
Being Different: Relational Demography and Organizational Attachment
Anne Tsui, Terri D. Egan, Charles A. O'Reilly III
Administrative Science Quarterly, 1992. Vol. 37, p 549-579
Building Process in Young, High-Tech Firms
James N. Baron, Michael T. Hannan, Greta Hsu, and Ozgecan Kocak; Mauro F. Guillén, Randall Collins, Paula England, and Marshall Meyer (eds.)
The New Economy Sociology: Developments in an Emerging Field, Russell Sage Foundation Press, New York, May 2002
Research on Managing in Groups and Teams
eds. Margaret Neale, Elizabeth Mannix, Deborah Gruenfeld
Greenwich, CT, JAI Press, 1998
Power and Influence in Organizations
eds., Roderick Kramer, Margaret Neale
Sage Publications, 1998
Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People Details
Charles A. O'Reilly III and Jeffrey Pfeffer
Harvard Business School Press, 2000
Charles A. O'Reilly Faculty Profile
Jeffrey Pfeffer Faculty Profile
