About
Academic Groups
- Work and Organization Studies
Academic Area
- Behavioral and Policy Sciences
Centers & Initiatives
- The MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Roberto M. Fernandez is the William F. Pounds Professor of Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Fernandez currently serves as the co-director of the Economic Sociology PhD Program and served as the head of the Behavioral and Policy Sciences area from 2008-2010. His research focuses on the areas of organizations, social networks, and race and gender stratification. Fernandez has extensive experience doing field research in organizations, including an exhaustive five-year case study of a plant retooling and relocation. His current research focuses on the organizational processes surrounding the hiring of new talent using data collected in 14 organizations. He is the author of more than 50 articles and research papers published in top academic journals in his field.
Fernandez holds a BA in sociology from Harvard University and an MA and a PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago.
Honors
Fernandez and Perakis each win MIT Sloan teaching award
May 8, 2024
Roberto Fernandez, the William F. Pounds Professor of Organization Studies and
Georgia Perakis, John C Head III Dean (Interim) and professor of Operations Management, Operations Research & Statistics, each received an MIT Sloan Outstanding Teacher Award. Each year, students nominate instructors for several teaching awards and the final recipients are chosen based on the quantity and quality of their nominations.
Publications
"What Makes Weak Ties Strong?"
Kim, Minjae and Roberto Fernandez. Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 49, (2023): 177-193.
"Networks for the Unemployed?"
Bond, Brittany, and Roberto Fernandez. In Social Networks at Work, edited by Daniel J. Brass and Stephen P. Borgatti, 275-307. New York, NY: Routledge, 2020.
"Gender Composition of Job Queues and Gender Disparities in Hiring."
Campero, Santiago, and Roberto Fernandez. Social Forces Vol. 97, No. 4 (2019): 1487-1516.
"Network Recruitment and the Glass Ceiling: Evidence from Two Firms."
Fernandez, Roberto, and Brian Rubineau. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 3 (2019): 88-102.
"Worker Morale and Effort: Is the Relationship Causal?"
Hassink, Wolter H.J., and Roberto Fernandez. The Manchester School Vol. 86, No. 6 (2018): 816-839.
"Once in the Door: Gender, Tryouts, and the Initial Salaries of Managers."
Sterling, Adina, and Roberto Fernandez. Management Science Vol. 64, No. 11 (2018): 5444-5460.
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Recent Insights
Ideas Made to Matter
Root out compensation bias and improve your bottom line
Even for the well-intentioned, gender and racial pay equity is elusive. A fair starting line, real transparency, and long-term commitment are a must.
Apr 17, 2019
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Ideas Made to Matter
3 research papers point to new approaches in employment equity
It’s not about fixing the pipeline. It’s about making it bigger.
Aug 8, 2017
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Media Highlights
Press Source: The Boston Globe
How a ‘broken rung’ can stop women in middle of the career ladder
New research has started to shed light on some of the reasons for the shrinking proportion of women making up each successive career level.
Press Source: Financial Times
Business schools dig deeper on diversity
Roberto Fernandez co-created the Leading a Diverse Workforce program ... to nurture diverse, inclusive and effective teams and organizations.
Press Source: Poets & Quants for Execs
2021 Best & Brightest EMBAs: Anne Tsao, MIT (Sloan)
"Anne is ... a gifted mentor, as evidenced by the success of her mentees."
Executive Education
Executive Education Course
Creating High Velocity Organizations
What makes some organizations capable of generating and sustaining high-velocity, unparalleled, relentless improvement and innovation? This program will introduce the fundamental principles by which such acceleration occurs, give examples of those principles in practice, and give participants an opportunity to test how those principles can be applied and translated to their own work.
- Oct 9-10, 2024
Executive Education Course
AI Executive Academy
An exciting collaboration between MIT's Sloan School of Management and Schwarzman College of Computing, this immersive, two-week program on campus dives deep into both the technical and business aspects of artificial intelligence, providing a comprehensive understanding of AI's impact across industries. The program will bridge the gap between AI technology and business leadership through practical, hands-on learning experiences, ensuring participants can apply AI strategies effectively in their organizations.
- Oct 28-Nov 8, 2024
- Apr 7-18, 2025
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