How D&I Initiatives Can Benefit From Behavioral Science
Some thoughts from our co-director, Prof. Nina Mazar, published in the BEworks Choice Architecture Report 2021. For full write-up, click here.
Excerpt:
“By and large, our society is concerned with advancing progressive issues, emphasizing fairness and social justice. One such issue brought to the forefront particularly in the more recent period is that of diversity and inclusion (D&I). Empirically speaking, various institutions and enterprises are underperforming with regards to D&I….So how can behavioral science complement strategy to help organizations become more effective in their D&I efforts? First, we need to recognize the factors that motivate (and de-motivate) action, and that those do not have to be intrinsic per se. A deep understanding of human psychology reveals that external motivators, such as public and peer recognition, are also powerful drivers of behavior; after all, humans crave status. Therefore, recognition can enhance reputation, spur competitive behavior, and/or simply be valued in its own right 4. Couple this insight with the rise of big data and voilà: workplace transparency becomes an inevitable and powerful aspect that executives ought to proactively consider to support the D&I transformation.”