Improving diversity in U.S. universities: Targeting individual bias "hasn't been working" (F. Dobbin)

"It's clear that trying to target individual bias and make that the problem hasn't been working to improve diversity. But unfortunately, those are the practices that all of the universities have, and the things that do work are relatively rare", says Frank Dobbin, Professor of sociology at Harvard University (U.S.), on 19/06/2025.

He is presenting his study, "Getting to Diversity: What Works and What Doesn't" with Alexandra Kalev, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University, at Sciences Po Paris (France). The study analyses the efficacy of diversity programmes at 600 schools over 20 years, shedding light on how universities can build faculties that look more like their students and the wider society in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.

"The good news is that American universities could make a lot of progress if you believe our results and do all the things that work: putting in task forces, mentoring systems, hiring differently, and work-life supports", he states.

The U.S. began to diversify its undergraduate bodies in the 1960s and has made…