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.

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.

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. See full list of media here.

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."

Cech's first book, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfilment at Work Fosters Inequality (University of California Press) was published Nov 2021 and is available in the US and internationally. It was 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 June 2022.

Appointments and Education

 

Appointments

2021-present Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan

2021-present Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy), University of Michigan 

2016-2021 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan

2012-2016 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Rice University

2011-2012 Postdoctoral Fellow, Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University

 

Education

2011 Ph.D. Sociology, University of California, San Diego
2008 M.A. Sociology, University of California, San Diego
2005 B.S. Electrical Engineering, Montana State University
  ~ Licensed E.I.T.; granted April 2005
2005 B.S. Sociology, Montana State University

 

Research Interests

  • Social Inequalities

  • Sociology of Gender

  • Cultural Sociology

  • LGBTQ Inequality

  • Occupations and Professions

  • Science and Technology Studies

  • Mixed Methods