RSC4 Denying social harm: Students’ resistance to lessons about inequality.

Exploring the paper Kleinman, S. and Copp, M., 2009. Denying social harm: Students’ resistance to lessons about inequality. Teaching Sociology37(3), pp.283-293.

Blog one of five, in a series by Dr Chrissi McCarthy.

Welcome to the fourth instalment of our research-to-social cycle (RSC) blogs, where we examine a research paper that has had a big impact on our thinking and explore it through a day-to-day lens.

This month, for R2SC 4 we will be examining a paper that significantly influenced my thinking, helping me to understand why some equality approaches failed, even when they were focused on overcoming inequality (RSC1) and in a fairly well-perceived working environment (RSC2). It informed the basis of the FIE (Fairness, Inclusion, Equity) model we use in all our practice.

I would encourage you to read it, cite it and share it. Then tell us what you thought. Did we miss a key point? Let us know, discussion is how we all learn more.

Ever considered what stops people from recognising inequality? Perhaps you have seen or experienced something yourself but disregarded it, only to wonder about it later? What if there are identifiable reasons why we don’t always recognise harm? How can we understand this better and apply it to our practice? This month’s Research-to-Social Cycle outlines what Kleinman, S. and Copp, M. found.

Blog 1: Introducing R2SC 2

Blog 2: Why this paper matters

Blog 3: How do they know what they know (research methods)

Blog 4: What they found

Blog 5: Round up. To close the research-to-social cycle, our resident EDI outsider Natalie will review the blogs and offer her takeaways on what the research, and what we at COBE recommend to put the research into action in your workplace

Not everyone has the time or luxury to get up close with academic research in EDI, and even if they do, they might not have stumbled upon these particular papers.

So we want to bring you closer to the research we have found important by introducing you to a new research paper each month, on the third Monday of the month, with five blogs across that week.

A cyclical representation using clockwise arrows to direct the eye from a research paper is shown, to a blog, to 'thinking' cogs.
Research to social cycle

We will discuss the research, its real-world impact, and what you can do to implement its findings. Perhaps importantly, these blogs will be written by humans rather than generative AI, so we can really understand the human element of the research and why it matters to us. (Note: I will never not be using Grammarly).

The idea behind the Research-to-Social Cycle blog series is to help bridge the research-practice gap in EDI. Currently, valuable research insights are being missed, which hinders our ability to improve our practice and our environments.

We want to help bridge that gap.

We hope you enjoy the series. Please let us know if we have successfully brought you closer to EDI research, so you can implement what is helpful in your practice.

McCarthy, C., Barnard, S., Thomson, D. and Dainty, A., 2021. Understanding gender equality policy and practice gaps through the lens of organisational justice: Development of an employee alignment model. Frontiers in Sociology6, p.681086.

Van den Brink, M. and Benschop, Y., 2012. Slaying the seven‐headed dragon: The quest for gender change in academia. Gender, Work & Organization19(1), pp.71-92.

Leslie, L.M., 2019. Diversity initiative effectiveness: A typological theory of unintended consequences. Academy of Management Review44(3), pp.538-563.

Kleinman, S. and Copp, M., 2009. Denying social harm: Students’ resistance to lessons about inequality. Teaching Sociology37(3), pp.283-293.

RSC5 Oct

Kaiser, C.R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T.L., Brady, L.M. and Shapiro, J.R., 2013. Presumed fair: ironic effects of organizational diversity structures. Journal of personality and social psychology104(3), p.504.

RSC6 Nov

Mor Barak, M.E., Lizano, E.L., Kim, A., Duan, L., Rhee, M.K., Hsiao, H.Y. and Brimhall, K.C., 2016. The promise of diversity management for climate of inclusion: A state-of-the-art review and meta-analysis. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance40(4), pp.305-333.

RSC7 Dec

Mazzucato, M., 2018. Mission-oriented innovation policies: challenges and opportunities. Industrial and corporate change27(5), pp.803-815.

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