As a research-driven institution, the College of Business knows that compelling research can lead to meaningful changes in the business landscape. Our faculty are leaders in their field and are the first to engage in challenging conversations about diversity and inclusion. Their studies and articles are being featured in some of the most prominent academic and professional outlets.
Diversity and Inclusion Lead to Profits and Savings
Assistant Professor of Marketing Jonathan Z. Zhang’s article “Maximizing the Benefits of B2B Supplier Diversification” explores the barriers to the adoption of supplier diversity initiatives and how they can promote growth for businesses. Zhang’s research challenges the notion that large suppliers can and will offer the lowest price on a product if smaller, more diverse suppliers aren’t involved in the bidding process. In fact, Zhang argues, when businesses include diverse suppliers in their procurement processes, it “is a win for buyers, for diverse business owners and their employees, and for economic and social progress.”
Connection to the Workplace Promotes Inclusion
In her article “Beyond demographic identities and motivation to learn: The effect of organizational identification on diversity training outcomes,” Assistant Professor of Management Samantha A. Conroy finds that organizations need a better understanding of diversity training so that they can better implement it. Conroy’s article notes that employees who strongly identify with their organizations are more motivated to apply diversity and inclusion training to their work and to replicate that training in their own positions.
Addressing the Inequalities of Unemployment
Discrimination against people based on race, sex, class and other identities can keep people from finding employment and prevent companies from benefiting from a diverse workforce. But there are other barriers to employment, too. Tiffany Trzebiatowski, an assistant professor of management, found that periods of unemployment on a resume can affect an applicant’s ability to find future employment. “Unemployed Needn’t Apply: Unemployment Status, Legislation, and Interview Requests” highlighted that the probability of getting an interview for a job lowers dramatically in response to an applicant’s unemployment status.
Caregiving and Job Discrimination
Bringing the experiences of your personal life into your professional life can be challenging. Professor of Management Chris Henle found in her article “Eldercare and Childcare: How Does Caregiving Responsibility Affect Job Discrimination?” that applicants who are the primary caregivers in their family face discrimination from hiring managers. Whether caring for elders or for children, caregivers were less likely to be hired, offered lower salaries and rated as less capable than non-primary caregiving parents.
Employment and Appearance
In “Body Art as a Source of Employment Discrimination,” Henle finds that despite an increase in popularity, body art puts applicants at a disadvantage when seeking employment, and certain individuals may experience more bias based on their body art. In general, Henle found that individuals with body art were less likely to be offered a job, received lower starting salaries or were perceived as less competent than those without body art.
Diversity Drives Innovation in Business
Through her review and synthesis of the literature about diversity and inclusion in business, Professor of Management Lynn Shore argues that while many businesses are prioritizing diversity in the workplace but until they account for inclusion they will not benefit from their efforts. “Inclusive workplaces: A review and model” shows that employees are responsive to acts of inclusion, and by giving agency to the historically marginalized, businesses could see growth in work engagement, employee creativity, performance and retention.
Through innovative research, our faculty are identifying areas where communities and workplaces can make conscious changes in how they engage and connect with others.