Pepperdine Graziadio Announces Doctor of Business Administration Dissertation Defense on the Positive Impact of Women and Minorities in Leadership
Earlier this month, Sharifa Batts, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidate
defended her dissertation research on “Social and Human Capital Contributions of Diverse Board Members”. Noting that while many firms serve a diverse population, very few, if any, have
minorities or women serving as members on their boards. Batts builds her studies on
current boardroom diversity and board effectiveness research by exploring how the
unique human and social capital contributions of women and minority board members
increase the boards’ capabilities and impact board governance. Batts completed her
research under the guidance of her dissertation committee which included Cristina
Gibson and Bobbi Thomason from Pepperdine Graziadio and Felton Williams, President
of the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education.
Building on the idea that boards are disadvantaged when their composition fails to
align with their employee population or the stakeholder groups they serve, Batts,
using a multiple case comparison approach argues that by omission, they are neglecting
the contributions of women and minorities. Her findings showed the contribution of
learned strategies and unique interactions along with the diverse board members’ human
and social capital, resulted in a positive influence on both the board and firm’s
effectiveness.
Batt’s research dissertation defense took place on Friday, July 9, during which she made the case for the value of diversity on organizational boards and the unique human and social capital women and minorities bring to the table.
More information on Sharifa Batts’s work and education can be found on her LinkedIn.