Diversity training sessions have become a mainstay in professional life as a way to address concerns surrounding bias and discrimination. However, evidence supporting their effectiveness is limited at best, and indeed sometimes unintended negative outcomes can result. Drawing from the literatures on education, sociology, and psychology, we address areas where training sessions may be improved through a better understanding of how people learn. Repeated exposure of ideas, buy-in from leadership, appropriate expertise, opportunities for active engagement, and connective presentation styles (such as storytelling) are all tools available for positive change.
About Rutgers Business Review
About Us
Mason Ameri
Rutgers University
Mason Ameri, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick. He specializes in managing diversity through equal opportunity for people with disabilities. His work has been profiled in more than 100 media...
Lisa M. Amoroso
Dominican University
Lisa M. Amoroso, PhD, is a Professor of Management at the Brennan School of Business, Dominican University. She holds the John and Jeanne Rowe Distinguished Professorship and serves as the faculty lead for the business school’s diversity and equity initiatives. She...
Terri R. Kurtzberg
Rutgers University
Terri R. Kurtzberg, PhD, is a Professor of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick. Her areas of expertise include negotiation strategies and persuasion tactics, electronic communication, distraction, and virtual teams. Dr...
Related articles
Marketing
Diversity
Consumer Behavior
Executive Insights: An Interview with Bill Imada, Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer at IW Group
by Stacy Smollin Schwartz
I discussed the latest marketing trends with Bill Imada, Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer at IW Group and the co-founder of the National Millennial Gen Z...
Human Resources
Management
Leadership
The Return-to-Office Decision Post-COVID: The Effects on Firm Performance
by Rob Bogosian, Lynda Byrd-Poller
Business leaders are facing critical, post-COVID return-to-office decisions that will impact organizational culture, employee engagement, and firm performance...