Photo Credit Drew Kelly.
Sociologists have produced an impressive body of research explaining how the status quo is reproduced. Yet we have developed far fewer theories that explain how to disrupt the status quo. I argue that we need more research that is solutions-focused, research that develops and evaluates theories of change, not just theories of the status quo. I highlight the benefits of building research partnerships with stakeholders outside the academy when conducting solutions-focused research. Drawing on research on gender biases in the tech industry, I demonstrate how these collaborations can generate new insights into entrenched social problems while also identifying concrete, theoretically grounded pathways to change.
Shelley Correll is the Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden Family Professor of Women’s Leadership at Stanford University and co-founder and director of the Stanford VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab. She also serves as associate director of Stanford Impact Labs and president of the American Sociological Association. A career highlight was interviewing Ruth Bader Ginsburg about her career, feminism, and women’s leadership. She enjoys travel, her dog Sammie, and watching baseball.