(Sociology, November 2001)
Thesis Title: Gender and Organizational Selection Decisions: Evidence from Law Firms
Committee: Peter V. Marsden and Barbara Reskin (co-chairs), David John Frank
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
Current Position: Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia

Professor Gorman's scholarly interests revolve around two central questions. First, how do people find their way through the landscape of work and career to the positions they attain? What individual and contextual factors influence the opportunities available to them and their success in pursuing those opportunities? In addressing this question, she has examined the impact of gender and race on hiring, promotion, and work effort, as well as the ways that organizational practices shape opportunities and rewards. Second, how do occupations and organizations influence the well-being of the societies around them? In this area, Professor Gorman's interests focus especially on professional and expert occupations, whose members wield enormous influence on national and global economies. How is that influence limited and regulated, and what explains the different approaches taken by different occupations and countries?