Diversity & Careers Lab (DC-Lab)

Principal Investigator: Dia Chatterjee

The DC-Lab focuses on workplace diversity and inclusion, and careers research. We define diversity broadly to include identity groups that have been historically undervalued, and also identities that can become devalued (once stigma is ascribed).

We seek to understand and mitigate the barriers that people with undervalued and/or stigmatized identities encounter in the workplace. For example, recent projects have included work on structural inequities such as health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities and exploring mechanisms for why anti-Black racism persists. People with undervalued identities often face stigma at work. We study the impact of stigma on individuals with pervasively devalued identities (e.g., women and people of color) and those whose identities are in the process of being delegitimized (e.g., immigrants, occupations such as policing). We are particularly interested in studying how individuals manage and construct their identities, and the impact of identity management strategies on individual outcomes.

In addition to diversity and inclusion, we study careers in STEM (primarily biomedical) and careers in organizational settings. Broadly, we are interested in studying how people choose their career pathways based on their self-concepts, values, and identity influences, and what contextual forces propel and/or hinder their career search. For example, recent projects have included work on difficulty in recruiting candidates in policing, and problems diverse individuals face in STEM settings (using an intersectionality perspective).