Diversity and Inclusion
A Look Back at 2021 through Our Top Stories
This year, many of our most-read stories examined facets of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, including the challenges of vaccination, the return to in-person work, the effectiveness of masks, and the bottleneck in the supply chain.
Can Bias Be Eliminated from Algorithms?
The predictive software used to automate decision-making often discriminates against disadvantaged groups. A new approach devised by Soheil Ghili at Yale SOM and his colleagues could significantly reduce bias while still giving accurate results.
![A graphic showing data being processed]()
Numbers, Not Narratives, Remedy Misperceptions of the Racial Wealth Gap
A series of studies co-authored by Yale SOM’s Michael Kraus have shown that Americans vastly underestimate the wealth gap facing Black Americans. The latest research shows that detailed data is more effective than personal narratives in improving their understanding.
![A $100 bill torn into two sections]()
Black and Latinx Conservatives ‘Upshift’ Competence to White Audiences
A new study by Yale SOM’s Cydney Dupree finds that when politically conservative Black and Latinx Americans speak in mostly White settings, they are more likely than their liberal counterparts to adopt language associated with power, status, and ability.
![Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, speaking to the media with Governor Nikki Haley and Senator Lindsey Graham at a 2013 groundbreaking event. Photo: Gerry Melendez/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images.]()
How American Mythologies Fuel Anti-Asian Violence
The wave of attacks against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities over the last year fits into a long history of violence driven by rhetoric portraying Asians as disease ridden, writes Prof. Michael Kraus.
![An End The Violence Towards Asians rally in New York City's Washington Square Park on February 20, 2021. Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images.]()
Weakening Unions Can Lead to Gender Gap in Wages
In 2011, legislation in Wisconsin reduced the power of unions to negotiate teachers’ salaries. Within five years, male teachers started earning more than women did.
![Teachers protesting Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate collective bargaining for state workers, in 2010. Photo: Mark Hirsch/Getty Images.]()
Study Finds Hospital Desegregation Didn’t Improve Mortality Rate for Black Infants
Efforts in the late 1960s to desegregate hospitals in the American South did not significantly contribute to improvements in the Black infant mortality rate, finds a new study co-authored by Dean Kerwin Charles.
![A black and white photo of a Black woman holding a newborn baby in a hospital ed]()
Getting Corporate Diversity Programs Wrong
Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who studied a previous wave of diversity initiatives, describes how such well-intentioned initiatives can go awry—and how to get them back on track.
![Protests sparked by the arrest of two Black men at a Starbucks location in Philadelphia in April 2018. Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images.]()
What’s the Path to Equity in Health?
We talked to Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale internist and an expert on the structural barriers to equitable treatment and health outcomes for people of color and other vulnerable populations.
![Doctors gathered around an x-ray on a computer screen]()
What Kamala Harris’s Nomination Means for Women’s Equality
If Joe Biden is elected this November, Kamala Harris would be the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. We asked Prof. Oriane Georgeac, who studies perceptions of diversity, if Harris’s nomination heralds an acceleration of progress for women generally.
![Kamala Harris campaigning in Iowa in February 2019. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images.]()
How Cash Bail Creates a Two-Tiered System of Justice
Kaitlin Koga ’17, chief of staff for the Bail Project, argues for an alternative to bail that she believes would deliver more equitable justice and improve public safety.
![A bail bonds storefront in New York City]()
