Shelley J. Correll, PhD

Shelley J. Correll is professor of sociology and (by courtesy) organizational behavior at Stanford University, where she directs the Stanford VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab and previously directed the Clayman Institute for Gender Research. Her expertise is in the areas of gender, workplace dynamics, and organizational culture.

Correll is committed to uncovering and removing the biases and barriers that limit women’s full participation in society. Her research on the “motherhood penalty” demonstrates how motherhood influences the workplace evaluations, pay, and job opportunities of mothers. Her current research uncovers how gender stereotypes and organizational practices limit the advancement and retention of women in technical jobs. Correll has published more than 30 articles on these topics. Correll’s research has received numerous awards, including the 2008 Distinguished Article Award, Sex and Gender section; from the American Sociological Association, the 2009 Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work Family Research; and recognition for Extraordinary Contribution to Work Family Research in 2018.

With her colleagues, Correll is currently designing and evaluating “small wins” interventions to increase diversity and inclusion outcomes in modern workplaces. Her research has been profiled in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and other leading media publications.

Correll is an award-winning teacher and mentor. In 2016, she was awarded the SWS Feminist Lecturer Award and in 2017, the SWS Feminist Mentor Award, both from Sociologists for Women in Society. Correll has conducted executive seminars and management development programs internationally. She frequently teaches in Executive Education at Stanford Graduate School of Business, including in the first LGBTQ executive education program offered by a top business school. She is codirector of the Program for Women Leaders in Major League Baseball at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

In addition to her teaching and research activities, Correll has been an active change agent in academia, having earned the Alice H. Cook and Constance E. Cook Award, Cornell University in 2008, for work to improve the climate for women at Cornell and elsewhere, and more recently, through her work as the Clayman Institute director. Under Correll’s directorship, the Clayman Institute received the 2019 President’s Awards for Excellence Through Diversity.