Dear Seren,
July is celebrated as Disability Pride Month, with events being held in places throughout the country. It commemorates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. Everyone can advance inclusion for people with disabilities by accepting their unique and diverse experiences and talents, and by honoring their rights.
The summer for the Dean’s Diversity Council began with an annual retreat. It included a reflection of what we have accomplished over the past academic year, and how we can strengthen our efforts and the future for diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence.
In this update, I want to bring our attention to our faculty who have incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence into their research and helped to spotlight its best practices and outcomes.
Research by Professor Jennifer Merluzzi has demonstrated that increasing diversity may not be enough to promote an inclusive environment. Organizations must also address systemic and cultural biases, according to Professor Merluzzi, whose study, “A Hidden Barrier to Diversification? Performance Recognition Penalties for Incumbent Workers in Male-Dominated Occupations,” documented how the representation of women in the Chicago Police Department impacted performance recognitions.
Professor Herman Aguinis is receiving the 2024 Academy of Management Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Division Career Award for Scholarly Contributions. This award recognizes scholars for the dedication and significance of their contributions to the study and advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Congratulations to Professor Aguinis on this award.
Professors Vineet Bhagwat and Chukwuma Dim’s working paper in finance looks at gender bias and crowd-sourced financial information and was presented at the Future of Financial Information Conference 2024, and the Fostering Inclusion Workshop 2024.
Professor Margaret Ormiston published a recent paper in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology on fragility and forgiveness, examining gender differences and masculinity in relation to willingness to forgive.
Professor James Wade recently published a paper in the American Journal of Sociology on racial disparity in leadership by studying evidence of valuative bias in the promotions of National Football League coaches.
These are some of the examples of the great research that our faculty have been pursuing in understanding the factors that contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion, in the economy and the society overall.
These and other efforts at GW provide important leadership in DEI at the university, and have been bolstered by Caroline Laguerre-Brown during her tenure as vice provost for diversity, equity and community engagement.
Recently the GW School of Business was mentioned in an article by U.S. News & World Report, “How Women Can Thrive in Business School,” with advice from Triada Cross, a student in the dual M.B.A. and M.S. in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management programs and the executive vice president of the GW Black MBA Association, and from me as chief diversity officer and a faculty member at the school.
Our suggestions were similar: establish connections with other students and with faculty and mentors. These individuals will form a community that can help women thrive in business school and in their careers. I also recommended women business school students maintain resiliency and be open to taking risks. Many of the insights from the piece were also highlighted by Poets&Quants. I am proud that GW Business is a leader in gender equity among business schools nationally and globally.
Thank you to our community members and the Dean’s Diversity Council for encouraging DEI within our school. If you have interest in getting involved with the Council, please contact me at sagca@gwu.edu.
