Information Systems and Social Inclusion: Reflections on social topography and the career success

Abstract

Diversity in the information systems is often thought of in terms of gender, ethnicity and race. In this paper, we suggest that the discipline needs to realize a more nuanced definition of diversity, that considers countries of origin, institutions of origin, and institutions of employment if we are to understand how social topography shapes opportunities for faculty seeking to pursue academic careers. Through an analysis of publication, editorial board composition, and these indicators of social topography, we illustrate how structural barriers shape the career trajectories of young faculty. Based on this analysis, we elicit implications for how we recruit students to PhD programs as well as how we develop editorial boards in top journals in order to advance the goals of furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Information Systems discipline.

Biography

Dr. Jason Bennett Thatcher holds the Milton F. Stauffer Professorship in the Department of Management Information Systems at the Fox School of Business of Temple University. He has also held visiting faculty appointments at the Technical University of Munich, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Information Technology University-Copenhagen. Jason studies individual decision-making, strategic alignment and workforce issues as they relate to the effective application of information technologies in organizations. His more recent projects direct attention to cyber security and social media. Jason’s publishes in journals such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of the AIS, Journal of Applied Psychology, Harvard Business Review, and other outlets. Jason’s work appears about once a year in Financial Times 50 listed journals.  AISResearchRankings.Org ranked him the most productive author on the AIS senior scholars list in 2014 and 2020. Jason’s work has earned 11,000+ citations. Jason serves as Senior Editor at Information Systems Research and Journal of the Association for Information Systems. He has served as Senior Editor at the MIS Quarterly and Decision Sciences as well as an Associate Editor at Information Systems Research. Jason’s greatest pleasure is working with students. He teaches courses in Management Information Systems and Strategic Management. He won the College of Business and Behavioral Science 2008 Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award at Clemson University. Jason was named to the Circle of Compadres by the KPMG foundation for contributions to mentoring minority Ph.D. students.