Race
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- 31 Jan 2023
- Cold Call Podcast
Addressing Racial Discrimination on Airbnb
For years, Airbnb gave hosts extensive discretion to accept or reject a guest after seeing little more than a name and a picture, believing that eliminating anonymity was the best way for the company to build trust. However, the apartment rental platform failed to track or account for the possibility that this could facilitate discrimination. After research published by Professor Michael Luca and others provided evidence that Black hosts received less in rent than hosts of other races and showed signs of discrimination against guests with African American sounding names, the company had to decide what to do. In the case, “Racial Discrimination on Airbnb,” Luca discusses his research and explores the implication for Airbnb and other platform companies. Should they change the design of the platform to reduce discrimination? And what’s the best way to measure the success of any changes?

- 03 Jan 2023
- Book
Confront Workplace Inequity in 2023: Dig Deep, Build Bridges, Take Collective Action
Power dynamics tied up with race and gender underlie almost every workplace interaction, says Tina Opie. In her book Shared Sisterhood, she offers three practical steps for dismantling workplace inequities that hold back innovation.

- 13 Dec 2022
- Research & Ideas
The Color of Private Equity: Quantifying the Bias Black Investors Face
Prejudice persists in private equity, despite efforts to expand racial diversity in finance. Research by Josh Lerner sizes up the fundraising challenges and performance double standards that Black and Hispanic investors confront while trying to support other ventures—often minority-owned businesses.

- 12 Dec 2022
- Research & Ideas
Buy-In from Black Patients Suffers When Drug Trials Don’t Include Them
Diversifying clinical trials could build trust in new treatments among Black people and their physicians. Research by Joshua Schwartzstein, Marcella Alsan, and colleagues probes the ripple effects of underrepresentation in testing, and offers a call to action for drugmakers.

- 18 Nov 2022
- HBS Case
What Does It Take to Safeguard a Legacy in Asset Management?
Diverse hiring, deep research, and a collaborative culture have defined Brown Capital's successful investment approach. But would those qualities endure after its founder retires? A case study by Luis Viceira and Emily McComb explores how the second-largest Black-founded investment firm is preparing for its next phase.

- 31 Oct 2022
- Research & Ideas
Why the Largest Minority Group Faces the Most Hate—and How to Push Back
A community's biggest minority group endures the most discrimination from a majority who fears losing status, says research by Marco Tabellini and colleagues. Findings from 20 years of crime and demographic data could help policymakers improve race relations.

- 12 Oct 2022
- Research & Ideas
When Design Enables Discrimination: Learning from Anti-Asian Bias on Airbnb
Airbnb bookings dropped 12 percent more for hosts with Asian names than other hosts during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, says research by Michael Luca. Could better design deter bias, particularly during times of crisis?

- 11 Oct 2022
- Research & Ideas
Shrinking the Racial Wealth Gap, One Mortgage at a Time
If banks hire more minority loan officers, more people of color might tap into a crucial means of wealth building: buying a home. Research by Adi Sunderam comes on the heels of a real estate frenzy that has mostly benefited white Americans.

- 09 Aug 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
A Lesson from Google: Can AI Bias be Monitored Internally?
Dr. Timnit Gebru was the co-lead of Google’s Ethical AI research team—until she raised concerns about bias in the company’s large language models and was forced out in 2020. Her departure sent shockwaves through the AI and tech community and raised fundamental questions about how companies safeguard against bias in their own AI. Should in-house ethics research continue to be led by researchers who best understand the technology, or must ethics and bias be monitored by more objective researchers who aren’t employed by companies? Professor Tsedal Neeley discusses how companies can approach the problem of AI bias in her case, “Timnit Gebru: 'SILENCED No More' on AI Bias and The Harms of Large Language Models.”

- 14 Jun 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
What Does It Take to Close the Opportunity Gap in America’s Labor Market?
In the wake of George Floyd’s killing and widespread protests for social justice in the United States, OneTen was formed by a coalition of 40 large companies to address the disparity in job opportunities for African Americans without four-year college degrees. Their goal was to provide one million jobs in 10 years. But in order to do that, OneTen had to analyze the underlying problems and formulate recommendations for both system-level problems and those that manifest themselves at an organizational level. Professor Kash Rangan and OneTen CEO Maurice Jones discuss OneTen’s approach in the case, “OneTen: One Million Opportunities in Ten Years.”

- 21 Sep 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Why JPMorgan Chase Is Committed to Improving Racial Equity in Banking
In 2020, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a $30 billion, “Commitment to Advance Racial Equity.” This included investments in housing, small businesses, and financial literacy across the U.S., as well as in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the bank. Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus Joe Bower and case protagonist Alice Rodriguez, head of community impact at JPMorgan Chase, discuss the implementation of that commitment and how it aligns with the bank’s longer-term growth strategy in the case, "JPMorgan Chase’s Path Forward." Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 09 Aug 2021
- Research & Ideas
OneTen: Creating a New Pathway for Black Talent
A new organization aims to help 1 million Black Americans launch careers in the next decade, expanding the talent pool. Rawi E. Abdelal, Katherine Connolly Baden, and Boris Groysberg explain how. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 09 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
How Tennis, Golf, and White Anxiety Block Racial Integration
White people often take steps to avoid interacting with people of other races, whether it's at home, work, or even on a golf course, says research by Jon Jachimowicz. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 02 Jun 2021
- Research & Ideas
A Rare Find in Health Care: A Simple Solution to Racial Inequity
Research by Amitabh Chandra offers a stark new explanation for racial disparities in heart attack survival rates—a problem with immediate answers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 25 May 2021
- Research & Ideas
White Airbnb Hosts Earn More. Can AI Shrink the Racial Gap?
Research by Shunyuan Zhang shows how Airbnb's pricing algorithm reduces the impact of bias, and offers lessons for other technology companies trying to root out racial inequity. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 02 Mar 2021
- HBS Case
The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?
A new Harvard Business School case by Mihir Desai examines the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, and asks difficult questions about what reparations America owes to its Black citizens. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 01 Mar 2021
- Research & Ideas
How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security
Military enlistment in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack shows the far-reaching effects of racial violence and disenfranchisement, says research by Marco Tabellini. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 04 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Hospital Allocation and Racial Disparities in Health Care
Black Americans experience disparities in health outcomes in the United States relative to other demographic groups. This study of heart attack sufferers over two decades develops a framework to examine the allocation of health care and the effectiveness of medical treatments, including beta-blockers and other technologies.

- 27 Oct 2020
- Research & Ideas
Can Being the ‘Token’ Give Women and Minorities a Competitive Edge?
Underrepresented professionals are more likely to choose predominantly male or white workgroups if it helps their ideas stand out, according to research by Edward H. Chang and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
What's Missing from the Racial Equity Dialogue?
Fellows visiting the Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society (BiGS) at Harvard Business School talk about how racism harms everyone and why it’s important to find new ways to support formerly incarcerated people.