Do DEI Efforts Count in Tenure Evaluations? An Experiment in Two STEM Fields

• In Event: Redefining Academic Expectations: DEI, Belonging, and Faculty Well-Being

Abstract

Faculty consistently report that when it comes to tenure and promotion, DEI does not “count,” or they are not sure how DEI efforts counted in decisions made. We investigate whether certain nudge interventions impact the weight of DEI, and if the candidate’s identity influence the effect of those nudges. We conducted a between-subjects experiment in which faculty in ecology and evolutionary biology (n = 1,101) and mechanical engineering (n = 654) rendered assessments on fictitious files that simulated different racial, gender, and nudge conditions. Results indicate that DEI efforts do count in some decisions, and that interventions were effective for evaluations related to the candidate’s specific institution. There were no statistically significant differences in nudge efficacy by candidate identity.

Authors

• Damani K. White-Lewis, University of Pennsylvania

• Jen Wessel, University of Maryland

• Alexandra Kuvaeva, University of Maryland

• KerryAnn O'Meara, Teachers College, Columbia University