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A Leader’s Role in Improving Organizational Diversity

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An overwhelming lack of diversity in many companies is one of the biggest issues in the business world today, especially in certain industries. Nearly everyone agrees that diverse workplaces are more successful—they’re more innovative, there’s less turnover, and overall, diverse companies bring in more revenue. In a 2015 study, McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity were 15% more likely to outperform other organizations with less diverse workforces. Ethnic and racial diversity made companies perform even better.

The problem is not in the theory of organizational diversity—it’s in the practice. Almost all companies want the benefits of more diverse teams, but building them can be surprisingly challenging. Leadership’s role in this process is absolutely crucial for establishing a diverse and productive workforce, but so many leaders fall short of their responsibilities in creating this environment. Here’s why leadership needs to take the reins—and a few tips for getting started.

Do Small Classes in Higher Education Reduce Performance Gaps in STEM?

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Performance gaps in science are well documented, and an examination of underlying mechanisms that lead to underperformance and attrition of women and underrepresented minorities (URM) may offer highly targeted means to promote such students. Determining factors that influence academic performance may provide a basis for improved pedagogy and policy development at the university level. We examined the impact of class size on students in 17 biology courses at four universities. Although the female students underperformed on high-stakes exams compared with the men as class size increased, the women received higher scores than the men on nonexam assessments. The URM students underperformed across grade measures compared with the majority students regardless of class size, suggesting that other characteristics of the education environment affect learning. Student enrollment is expected to increase precipitously in the next decade, underscoring the need to prioritize individual student potential rather than yield to budget constraints when considering equitable pedagogy and caps on classroom sizes.

Empowering Women Will Innovate Your Company

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Female empowerment has been a hot topic in the business community over the years. Female entrepreneurship is rising steadily, and conversations will steer toward this theme increasingly as women entrepreneurs expand their influence in the marketplace.

In fact, recent studies have shown that this trend is expanding progressively. One study found that between 2015 and 2016 alone, there was a 10 percent increase in women entrepreneurs, reducing the business owner gender gap by 5-percent. Because of this trend, analysts forecast improved economic development and employee engagement.

Diversity is important for success in business. Unequal distribution of financial opportunities has slowed economic growth. Contemporary organizations can remedy this circumstance by working toward equality in the workplace. An inclusive work environment promotes job satisfaction and confidence for female employees. This support promotes innovation and self-reliance in the workplace and may even encourage female entrepreneurship.

We’re all colleagues: On toughness, labor, and respect

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The absence of external validation or positive feedback. Long, often grueling hours. The uncertainty of promotion. The lack of a regular schedule. The physical toll of working in the field. The fact that your work isn’t valued — and is even the butt of public jokes! The physical and emotional abuse by people who have power over you and your job security. Entitled, demeaning comments about your appearance. The expectation that you go above and beyond to perform emotional labor. The expectation that you spend personal money on things you can’t afford, just to get by. Soul-draining busy-work and morale-busting red tape. Crap pay.  The inability to just leave everything at the door. The expectation that you be constantly available. This job can be really, really hard.

What Do We Do With the Science of Monstrous Men?

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On May 18, W. French Anderson, known as the “father of gene therapy,” was released from prison on parole. Two weeks later, the 81-year-old scientist, pediatrician, and ex-con welcomed science writer Sharon Begley to his home in California for several days of interviews, which he gave with a GPS tracking device encircling his ankle. “This is what it has come to for a world-renowned scientist who was convicted of sexually molesting a colleague’s young daughter,” she writes at the top of her warm, weird, and at times outrageous profile for STAT last week.

There’s been a lot of talk, in recent months, about the legacies of monstrous men in the arts. We’ve reviewed the benefits and risks associated with their public shaming. We’ve re-appraised their prior work. We’ve wondered whether prodigious talents should be allowed to re-emerge and keep creating; and then we’ve theorized that our love of second chances enabled them from the start. Much less consideration has been given to the Monstrous Men in Science—the sundry research “pioneers” and “geniuses” who have turned out to be abusive bullies or much worse. Should the terms of their disgrace be any different? Should their misbehavior color how we think about their research? Or put another way: Can or should a man’s monstrosity be separated from his science?

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Contact

Ahna Skop, PhD, DSc
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2426 Genetics
Madison, WI 53706
608-263-1593
skop@wisc.edu

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