Erin A. Cech
Associate Professor of Sociology and Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy), University of Michigan
About
Erin A. Cech is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Associate Professor by courtesy in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Before coming to Michigan, She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University and was on faculty at Rice University. 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.
Cech has published two books, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality and Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering (with M.Blair-Loy).
Her third book, Workplace Equity Wars: Confronting the Moral Codes that Maintain Inequality, will be out with Polity Press in early 2027 (sign up here to be notified when it’s released)
She is also is working on Inequality Tales: The Stories People Tell about Social Differences and Why They Matter (under contract with UCalifornia press) for release in late 2027.
Cech has written for The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and The Conversation. Her work has been featured in Forbes, NPR, Business Insider, Financial Times, Time, CNN, The Guardian, Reuters.
She is an in-demand international keynote speaker, presenting to academic, corporate, and non-profit audiences worldwide.
Email: ecech@umich.edu
follow for research updates: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinacech X: @CechERIN
Name Pronunciation: Erin [Eh-rin] Cech [“Sek”] Hear it
