Research Areas
Contextual Effects of Diversity Efforts
I investigate how the effects of diversity efforts are enmeshed in the surrounding sociopolitical context, such as protective or restrictive laws toward social groups (e.g., Parents’ Bill of Rights, anti-DEI legislation, Pereira-Jorge et al., 2026, SPPS; Oswald, Pereira-Jorge et al., 2025, ASAP). I contend that the context of diversity efforts impacts individual’s attraction to, or avoidance of, organizational, academic, or public spaces. Employing quantitative and qualitative approaches, I work directly with marginalized and advantaged individuals to examine how commonplace diversity efforts (Pereira-Jorge et al., 2025, JESP) and perceived cultural climate (Pereira-Jorge & Chaney, in press, PSPB) influences expectations of identity-based treatment and wellbeing.
Promoting Allyship & Solidarity
My secondary focus is how to identify and promote desired forms of allyship – actions to disrupt and dismantle inequality. One avenue is verbal disapproval of bias, known as prejudice confrontations. I examine how social-norms messaging may mitigate common barriers that deter prejudice confrontations in White Americans (Pereira-Jorge & Chaney, 2025, GPIR). With my collaborators, I adapted research on the Bystander Effect to develop a video-based confrontation intervention (Drake, Pereira-Jorge, & Lai, in prep), equipping individuals with the skills to identify and respond to gender bias. I also focus on how to successfully convey one’s allyship within inter-minority contexts (i.e., White LGBTQ+ Americans indicating solidarity with Black Americans, Pereira-Jorge & Chaney, in press, GPIR).