India Johnson selected for research grant, co-authors paper examining how to effectively support black women in STEM

India Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, was recently selected for the 2017 Summer Cycle Small Research Grant Program by the Society of Personality and Social Psychology.

The $1,500 award will fund a research project examining if demonstrating allyship with women of color can encourage black women’s belonging in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) environments. Specifically, the proposed research examines how White men can signal allyship with women of color, and potentially serve as role models and promote belonging for black women in STEM. More details about the work can be found here: http://www.spsp.org/awards/small-grant-program 

The SPSP grant is an extension of earlier work recently published by Johnson and her collaborator, Eva Pietri, in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. This research explores how STEM companies can best signal they value black women in STEM environments, a needed area of study as black women are among the least represented groups in STEM. In addition to featuring a greater representation of black men and women, Johnson and Pietri’s work finds that a white female scientist expressing allyship with women of color also makes black women feel more valued in STEM. The in press paper can be accessed here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002210311630453X

The proposed work and recently published paper are a part of Johnson’s larger body of work examining how to best support individuals of various identities in environments where they are traditionally underrepresented.