Abstract
July 26, 2021, Paper: "From a systems perspective, solving inequalities will require a diverse group of stakeholders to understand what fuels and maintains inequality—ideally informed by empirical findings. This symposium presents five empirical papers that, together, provide a framework for individuals to start to understand inequality from three different lenses—income, power, and culture—and how they can take action against inequality in the workplace. We start with resource-based differences (i.e., income); Hauser and colleagues will show how providing unconditional cash transfers can impact well-being, cognitive capacity, and physical health, and its implications in the workplace. Next, du Plessis et al. will pivot to look at how one’s structural position in the power hierarchy (i.e., power inequality) shapes a person’s trust and cooperation. Then, the last three papers will examine inequality through a cultural lens—an outcome of a cultural divide between mainstream institutions and the social groups that participate in them. Han and colleagues will demonstrate the importance of subtle environmental cues at work for the sense of belonging of individuals who come from working-class backgrounds. Fourth, Dittmann et al. will expand on the importance of cultural mismatch to show that organizational values, both espoused and enacted, are crucial to mitigating inequality and harnessing the potential of individuals who come from working-class backgrounds. Fifth, Truong and Townsend will show that people from working-class backgrounds may bring a unique set of cultural competencies that convey advantages in organizational life. Phillips will serve as the discussant and make the case for why managers and organizations should care about solving inequality. Together, this symposium presents a theoretically-driven framework to understand social class inequality, and discuss possible ways managers can mitigate its negative impact in organizations." Read Via the Academy of Management
Non-HKS Author Website - Jon Michael Jachimowicz