Sociology, '18, working with Professor Frank Dobbin

This past semester I had the privilege of working alongside Professor Frank Dobbin on a project surrounding workplace equality. Specifically, the project examines how past litigation of the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (a federal agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws) worked to change the behavior of companies. Through this project I quickly learned that when the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) wins or settles a lawsuit against a company they typically enact more than a monetary settlement to the benefit of the party who experienced discrimination. In addition to monetary settlements, the EEOC places other non-monetary conditions on companies called injunctive relief. For example, the EEOC may mandate a company to give diversity or harassment training to all of its employees, write new discrimination policies, or post the company discrimination policy in a public space. While these are merely three examples of injunctive relief used by the EEOC, these conditions span a wide range and can be combined in many different ways in each legal case.  

I was primarily involved in the production of data for this project. As a research assistant I used a database to read many EEOC consent decrees and then coded each case based on the forms of injunctive relief used. Additionally, I was able to gain insight into how the data I was collecting was being modeled in order to produce a conclusion about the effects of EEOC litigation. While the classes I have taken at Harvard acquainted me with the outcomes of quantitative sociology, this project provided me with a first-hand look at how sociologists use data and models to produce conclusions. Further, and perhaps the most rewarding aspect of my research experience, the work that I completed on this project will hopefully go on to make a real and meaningful impact. Ultimately, the outcome of this project will allow the EEOC to better understand the impact of their past litigation in creating less discriminatory and more diverse workplaces and better hone their processes of fighting workplace discrimination.