People
Erin Ann Cech
Faculty Associate; Training Faculty
Associate Professor of Sociology, Director Academic Program, Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
Associate Professor of Sociology, Director Academic Program, Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
Research Interests:
Dr. Cech’s research examines how inequality is reproduced through processes that are built into seemingly innocuous cultural beliefs and practices. She uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to examine inequality in STEM professions; she examines how cultural definitions of “good work” and “good workers” can anchor inequality in the workforce; and she studies how cultural understandings of the extent and origin of inequality help to uphold unequal social structures.
Select Projects
Select Publications
- Erin Ann Cech, Cynthia J. Finelli. 2024. Learning to prioritize the public good: Does training in classes, workplaces, and professional societies shape engineers’ understanding of their public welfare responsibilities?. Journal of Engineering Education
- Cech,Erin Ann, Seron, Carroll , Silbey, Susan , Rubineau, Brian . 2019. “I am Not a Feminist, but. . .”: Hegemony of a Meritocratic Ideology and the Limits of Critique Among Women in Engineering. Work and Occupations
- Cech,Erin Ann, Smith, Jessi L, Metz, Anneke . 2019. Cultural Processes of Ethnoracial Disadvantage among Native American College Students. Social Forces
- Cech,Erin Ann, Rothwell, William R. 2019. LGBT Workplace Inequality in the Federal Workforce: Intersectional Processes, Organizational Contexts, and Turnover Considerations. ILR Review :0019793919843508.
- Cech,Erin Ann, Slaton, Amy E, Riley, Donna M. 2019. Yearning, Learning, and Earning: The Gritty Ontologies of American Engineering Education. STEM of Desire :319-340.
- Cech,Erin Ann, Blair-Loy, Mary . 2019. The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(10):4182-4187.
- Cech,Erin Ann, Blair-Loy, Mary , Rogers, Laura E. 2018. Recognizing chilliness: How schemas of inequality shape views of culture and climate in work environments. American Journal of Cultural Sociology 6(1):125-160.
- Cech,Erin Ann, O'Connor, Lindsey Trimble. 2018. Not Just a Mothers' Problem: The Consequences of Perceived Workplace Flexibility Bias for All Workers. Sociological Perspectives 61(5):808-829.
- Cech,Erin Ann, Rothwell, William R. 2018. LGBTQ Inequality in Engineering Education. Journal of Engineering Education 107(4):583-610.
- Cech,Erin Ann. 2017. Rugged Meritocratists: The Role of Overt Bias and the Meritocratic Ideology in Trump Supporters' Opposition to Social Justice Efforts. Socius 3:2378023117712395.