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Diversity and Inclusion

Why It’s Harder for Women Founders to Get Venture Capital Funding

A new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Heather Tookes shows that women are less likely to get funding compared to men with similar entrepreneurial history. One reason is that investors who have experienced a poor outcome from a woman-led startup shy away from other women founders—but benefitting from successes of women founders doesn’t lead them to invest more.

An illustration showing a male investor being raised up by hands and money, while a women investor is getting less
  • Firms Aren’t Living Up to Their Diversity Claims

    A new paper co-authored by Professor Edward Watts finds that for many companies, actual diversity efforts bear little resemblance to the claims made in public disclosures. What’s more, funds from socially conscious investors flow more to firms that engage in this “diversity washing.”

    An illustration of a banner covered in colorful charts being hoisted in front of a corporate building
  • Teachers See Misbehavior from Black Students as More Blameworthy

    In order to isolate the role of race in teacher-student interactions, Prof. Jayanti Owens created videos using actors to depict misbehavior. She found that teachers are more likely to describe an incident with “blaming” language if the actor playing the misbehaving students is Black.

    Students of various races in a classroom
  • How a Time Out Can Help Address Bias

    The Bias Time Out, developed by a team including Gina Calder ’22 and Dr. Cecelia Calhoun ’21, helps healthcare teams spot and address bias in real time.

    An illustration of doctors and nurses discussing care in surgery
  • Ratings Systems Amplify Racial Bias on Gig-Economy Platforms

    A new Yale SOM study found that the five-star ratings on platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit can spread the effects of racial discrimination by displaying ratings from biased users to those who otherwise would not discriminate.

    An illustration of a ride-share driver with thumbs up and thumbs down ratings emerging from the rear windows of his car.
  • How Property Tax Foreclosure Accelerates Gentrification and Magnifies the Racial Wealth Gap

    Non-white homeowners are at disproportionate risk of losing their homes over unpaid property taxes, shows new research from Yale SOM’s Cameron LaPoint.

    A house under foreclosure in Denver in 2007.
  • Black Households Have Less Access to Banks

    Why do some demographic groups visit banks less than others? According to a new study by Yale SOM’s Alexander Zentefis and the Fed’s Jung Sakong, the primary barrier for Black households is a lack of nearby branches.

    A Citibank bank branch
  • Black Boys Face Double Jeopardy at School

    Teachers tend to blame Black boys more than White boys for identical misbehaviors, finds Yale SOM’s Jayanti Owens. Black and Latino boys also receive harsher punishment because the schools they attend tend to have more punitive cultures.

    A teacher with two boys, one Black and one White
  • Is the Art Market Fair to Women?

    Why do women artist appear less frequently at auctions and in galleries? A study of Yale Art School graduates over 120 years, co-authored by William Goetzmann of Yale SOM, suggests that institutions pose a bigger obstacle than market participants.

    Sculptor Eva Hesse,  who received a BFA from Yale in 1959, with her work.  
  • The Reckonings Facing the Theater

    The challenges of the last several years, including the upheaval of COVID-19 and the anti-racism movement that followed George Floyd’s murder, have had profound consequences for American theater. In a recent conversation with Yale SOM, three Yale alumni in the industry offered their perspectives on what comes next.

    Audience members wearing masks in a theater.
  • Making the ‘Business Case for Diversity’ Can Backfire with Underrepresented Groups

    Many companies say that they are committed to diversity because it boosts firm performance. In a new study, Oriane Georgeac at Yale SOM and Aneeta Rattan at London Business School find that this explanation can have detrimental consequences for the very applicants that companies seek to attract.

    An illustration showing a graph of profits and a group of people of different ethnic backgrounds