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Research Interests:

Erin A. Cech is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Associate Professor by courtesy in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego and undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Sociology from Montana State University.

Cech’s research examines cultural mechanisms of inequality reproduction–specifically, how inequality is reproduced through processes that are not overtly discriminatory or coercive, but rather those that are built into seemingly innocuous cultural beliefs and practices. She investigates this puzzle through three avenues of research. First, she uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to examine inequality in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions–specifically, the recruitment and retention of women, LGBTQ, and racially minoritized students and practitioners and the role of professional cultures in this inequality. Second, Cech examines how cultural definitions of “good work” and “good workers” can anchor inequality in the workforce. For example, she examines the role of the “passion principle” in the reproduction of occupational inequalities: how seemingly voluntary and self-expressive career decisions help reproduce processes like occupational sex segregation. Finally, she studies how cultural understandings of the extent and origin of inequality help to uphold unequal social structures. Cech’s research is funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation. Her research has been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Time, The Guardian, Forbes, Chronicle of Higher Education and the news sections of Science and Nature. She has written op-eds in The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and The Conversation.

In 2021, Cech received the Henry Russel Award, “the University of Michigan’s highest honor for faculty at the early to mid-career stages of their career, conferred annually to faculty members who have demonstrated an extraordinary record of accomplishment in scholarly research and/or creativity, as well as an excellent record of contributions as a teacher.”

In 2024, Cech received a Faculty Recognition Award, University of Michigan’s highest honor for faculty at the mid-career who have “demonstrated remarkable contributions to the University through outstanding achievements in scholarly research and/or creative endeavors; excellence as a teacher, advisor and mentor; and distinguished participation in the service activities of the university and elsewhere.”

Cech’s first book, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfilment at Work Fosters Inequality (University of California Press) was published in 2021 and is available in the US and internationally from the outlets listed here:

—Named one of Financial Times’ Best Business Books of 2021

Her second book, Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering (University of Chicago Press), written with Mary Blair-Loy, was published in 2022 and is available here:

Her Academic Website, with updated publication list, can be found here: https://ErinACech.com