Written By: Moomal Ahmed, Melissa Ouhocine, and Bhavya Visal

Spring 2021 Wharton Women Allies Committee

As the Wharton Women Allies Committee, we are excited to launch our new Professor Spotlights Initiative! For this project, we reached out to Penn professors and asked them to share their insights on allyship and provide tips that are relevant to their respective industries. In doing so, we hope to generate dialogue, understanding, and ultimately action to promote gender equality in the workforce. We believe that by interviewing experts in their respective fields, we can provide valuable insights to the Wharton Women and Penn communities on how to make tangible change by being allies to women in diverse industries. We are excited to launch this initiative this spring and look forward to continuing it in the fall with more professors with experiences! We are grateful to begin by sharing the insights we have gained from two inspirational academics: Professor Maria Murphy from the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Department and Professor Tiantian Yang from the Management Department in Wharton.

Dr. Maria Murphy is the Interim Associate Director at the Alice Paul Center and a Professor in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies department. Dr. Murphy is involved in academic research examining the relationship between music technologies and body politics through multimedia performance art, American experimentalism, and aesthetic activism in the 20th and 21st centuries. In the classroom, Dr. Murphy has pushed students to question the societal structures and power dynamics that drive and shape gendered social orders.

1. We think that the first step is for people to own their privilege. Have you seen any examples of this in your career, and, if so, how do you feel about the way it was done?

“I think there needs to be substantial learning and unlearning behind any efforts related to ‘owning privilege’ and being an ‘ally.’ I believe privilege is a term best understood structurally. What are the material affordances of different forms of privilege under cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, and white supremacy? How can privileged resources be redistributed? These are big questions that don’t have simple answers, but working towards recognizing and dismantling oppressive systems is an effective way to work toward actually improving material conditions for others. One way to start is researching systemic inequalities in Philadelphia, for example. What’s the history of redlining in the city? How are public schools funded? What role do institutions like Penn play in the communities in which they operate? The Penn & Slavery Project and the campaign for Penn to make PILOTs could be useful issues to research, as a start. To me, these two projects and the work of the students, staff, and faculty involved, are great examples of how to effect change in a meaningful way.”

2. How can each of us be allies in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion? How can we do so in a way that has a lasting effect rather than something that is short-term and performative?

“It seems to me that working together is our best shot of having a lasting effect. There are so many great initiatives and community organizations already going on at Penn and in the city—we don’t have to reinvent the wheel! Understanding how power and resources are consolidated can seem overwhelming, but collective organizing can make difficult tasks more manageable.”

3. Based on your experiences, what advice would you give to students from underrepresented groups on navigating the professional world?

“Remember to recognize the value of self-knowledge and lived experience.”

This Professor Spotlight was completed by Melissa Ouhocine. Here are her key takeaways:

Wharton Women is committed to promoting gender equality, and Dr. Murphy’s response demonstrates how important it is to recognize our privilege to move towards equity and inclusion for all. In order to fight against systemic oppression, we must redefine our gender norms and standards. While our society is full of oppressive structures, Dr. Murphy emphasizes that by uniting ourselves through community initiatives, working to dismantle societal inequality, and valuing our life experiences, we can be better people and better allies.

Professor Tiantian Yang is an Assistant Professor of Management at Wharton. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research interests focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, organizations, social inequality, labor markets, social networks, gender, and quantitative methods. She has held visiting scholar positions at the Stockholm School of Economics, the Jonkoping School of Business, and the Institute of Analytical Sociology.

1. We think that the first step is for people to own their privilege. Have you seen any examples of this in your career, and, if so, how do you feel about the way it was done?

“I did have a lot of support from various people, including my mentors, friends, family members etc.”

Professor Tiantian Yang has continually brought up issues like “diversity analytics” in workplaces in her People Analytics class, encouraging healthy conversations on topics such as racism in hiring, sexist practices in job advertising, and halo biases. The understanding has always been that these conversations are difficult to have and to provide definitive answers to, but the very process of discussing and perusing these matters is what addresses this unevenness in job advertising, recruiting, and onboarding.

2. How can each of us be allies in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion? How can we do so in a way that has a lasting effect rather than something that is short-term and performative?

“It’s such a good question. Perhaps the idea of paying it forward will make the support last longer so that everyone feels supported and tries to continue the tradition.”

3. Based on your experiences, what advice would you give to students in business from underrepresented groups?

“Work hard, and work really hard. Also, be aware of the importance of social connections. Understand how to identify supportive people. To some extent try to ignore biases or discrimination.”

This Professor Spotlight was completed by Moomal Ahmed. Here are her key takeaways:

This is especially relevant for Wharton Women members, who are a close-knit, supportive group that campaigns for the personal and career development of women in business. This creates a network of camaraderie in both social and professional spheres for historically underrepresented groups and individuals. Especially in the earlier career stages, this is a rewarding group for professional support, mentoring, and just general bonding!

Wharton Women Allies Professor Spotlights