DFI Digest

Prior to 2009, women made up only 8 percent of the directors of U.S. corporate boards. By 2019, the figure increased to 19 percent among public firms, but for private firms it was roughly unchanged.

The gender pay gap is a hot topic among business leaders, policy makers and the public. The difference between men’s and women’s salaries is a clear-cut measure of gender equity. Yet, it doesn’t tell the whole story. A limited focus on pay excludes the value of non-pay job attributes, such as benefits, hours flexibility and other amenities.

Digital media platforms such as Netflix, Facebook, and TikTok are under increasing scrutiny regarding the ethical implications of their personalized content recommendations. To combat bias and avoid skewed content suggestions, sophisticated algorithms can perform additional layers of analysis to ensure that recommendations give space to topics such as racial equity, sexuality, and political persuasion. However, doing this in real time with the conventional algorithmic approach would greatly increase page-load times and create a frustrating user experience.

Policymakers and international organizations like the United Nations have suspected that local banks play a role in improving healthcare outcomes in developing countries. New research affiliated with the Bernstein Center for Leadership and Ethics takes a broad look at bank services in developing countries and uncovers surprising links between healthcare marketplaces and positive community outcomes.

Recently, some brands have chosen to take sides on controversial issues. However, this type of brand activism may aggravate social polarization without benefit. New research affiliated with the Bernstein Center for Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School suggests brands that choose a different path can play a unique and successful role decreasing the polarization of social and political attitudes.

Employee selection systems are important tools for shaping organizational culture. Previous research has shown that identifying and hiring employees who hold company-aligned vales, such as quality or adaptability, is an effective way to directly infuse those values into an organization.