Jessica Gold, PhD
Bio
Jessica Gold is a sociologist, who focuses on gender and racial inequality in organizations. Her research is characterized by a mixed-methods approach, combining computational text and network analysis, quantitative statistical methods, and qualitative interviews. Dr. Gold is currently based in Tucson, AZ as a (remote) Associate Research Scientist at Northeastern University in the Sociology department and a Visiting Virtual Scholar at the ARC Network. She received a BA in Sociology from the College of William and Mary and a PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Davis. She is committed to advancing social justice through her research and outreach activities.
Recent Projects
Gender and Race Differences in Engaged Scholars among Faculty Applicants
Translating Interdisciplinary Knowledge for Gender Equity
Through the lens of epistemic exclusion, this project examines whether a particular form of scholarship—engaged scholarship—already known to be devalued in traditional academic faculty reward systems—is indeed more likely to be done by historically underrepresented groups in academic STEM fields (women and scholars of color). Through a grounded computational text analysis, I identify engaged scholars among applicants to assistant-level faculty positions at major research universities—a key demographic for understanding organizational gatekeeping setting the standards for values in universities: who becomes faculty, and what types of knowledge may be excluded/included at universities both for teaching and knowledge production.
Interdisciplinarity is often hailed as a necessity for tackling real-world challenges. This research examines the prevalence and impact of interdisciplinarity in the NSF ADVANCE program, which addresses gender equity in STEM. Through a quantitative analysis of authorship, references, and citations in ADVANCE publications, we compare the interdisciplinarity of knowledge produced within the program to traditional disciplinary knowledge. Our findings emphasize the significance of interdisciplinarity in problem-oriented knowledge production, indicating that specific forms of interdisciplinarity can lead to broader scientific impact.
Upcoming and Recent Presentations
Jessica Gold, PhD
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Northeastern University
ARC Network Virtual Visiting Scholar
Tucson, AZ