Salma Mousa / سلمى موسى
@salmamousa.bsky.social
Political scientist at UCLA / Social Cohesion / Social Justice / Field Experiments / 🇪🇬 / 🤘🏽 / ⚽️
For a critical, data-driven retrospective on DEI, Keep an eye out for our upcoming book --- Triggered: the Life and Death of DEI!
What did DEI achieve, for whom, and at what cost?
With @lachlanmcnamee.bsky.social and @kylepeyton.bsky.social
Blurb here: t.co/ZUi5qOXYpR
What did DEI achieve, for whom, and at what cost?
With @lachlanmcnamee.bsky.social and @kylepeyton.bsky.social
Blurb here: t.co/ZUi5qOXYpR
https://tinyurl.com/347jds66
t.co
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
For a critical, data-driven retrospective on DEI, Keep an eye out for our upcoming book --- Triggered: the Life and Death of DEI!
What did DEI achieve, for whom, and at what cost?
With @lachlanmcnamee.bsky.social and @kylepeyton.bsky.social
Blurb here: t.co/ZUi5qOXYpR
What did DEI achieve, for whom, and at what cost?
With @lachlanmcnamee.bsky.social and @kylepeyton.bsky.social
Blurb here: t.co/ZUi5qOXYpR
After 20+ years, we can safely say that trickle-down diversity failed in academia.
For that, you need long-term investments in post-docs, mentorship, and other early-career programs.
Which most universities are not incentivized to do. All the cost with none of the visibility and social rewards.
For that, you need long-term investments in post-docs, mentorship, and other early-career programs.
Which most universities are not incentivized to do. All the cost with none of the visibility and social rewards.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
After 20+ years, we can safely say that trickle-down diversity failed in academia.
For that, you need long-term investments in post-docs, mentorship, and other early-career programs.
Which most universities are not incentivized to do. All the cost with none of the visibility and social rewards.
For that, you need long-term investments in post-docs, mentorship, and other early-career programs.
Which most universities are not incentivized to do. All the cost with none of the visibility and social rewards.
Most Americans support racial equity, diversifying workplaces, and DEI.
But they do *not* like preferential hiring.
Fears of blocked professional advancement among whites and men - fueled by very real, very crude cases - were mobilized by Republican elites to kill the entire DEI movement.
But they do *not* like preferential hiring.
Fears of blocked professional advancement among whites and men - fueled by very real, very crude cases - were mobilized by Republican elites to kill the entire DEI movement.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Most Americans support racial equity, diversifying workplaces, and DEI.
But they do *not* like preferential hiring.
Fears of blocked professional advancement among whites and men - fueled by very real, very crude cases - were mobilized by Republican elites to kill the entire DEI movement.
But they do *not* like preferential hiring.
Fears of blocked professional advancement among whites and men - fueled by very real, very crude cases - were mobilized by Republican elites to kill the entire DEI movement.
The irony in all this? A conjoint experiment we ran shows students don't care about the race or gender of university presidents.
But they DO care a lot about faculty diversity. There is clear pedagogical value here.
Universities spent 20 years diversifying the roles students care LEAST about.
But they DO care a lot about faculty diversity. There is clear pedagogical value here.
Universities spent 20 years diversifying the roles students care LEAST about.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The irony in all this? A conjoint experiment we ran shows students don't care about the race or gender of university presidents.
But they DO care a lot about faculty diversity. There is clear pedagogical value here.
Universities spent 20 years diversifying the roles students care LEAST about.
But they DO care a lot about faculty diversity. There is clear pedagogical value here.
Universities spent 20 years diversifying the roles students care LEAST about.
What explains this?
Academics are hired based on publications, citations, and grant $. Can’t mess with those without internal and legal pressure.
But senior admins are hired based on communication and leadership skills - making these roles easier to diversify without investing in pipelines.
Academics are hired based on publications, citations, and grant $. Can’t mess with those without internal and legal pressure.
But senior admins are hired based on communication and leadership skills - making these roles easier to diversify without investing in pipelines.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
What explains this?
Academics are hired based on publications, citations, and grant $. Can’t mess with those without internal and legal pressure.
But senior admins are hired based on communication and leadership skills - making these roles easier to diversify without investing in pipelines.
Academics are hired based on publications, citations, and grant $. Can’t mess with those without internal and legal pressure.
But senior admins are hired based on communication and leadership skills - making these roles easier to diversify without investing in pipelines.
The share of white male assistant professors *has* declined (47%→ 33% from 2004 to 2024).
This is driven by gains among Asian-Americans --- who are super overrepresented relative to Hispanic and Black profs.
There's a real glass ceiling for Asian-Americans in leadership roles, though.
This is driven by gains among Asian-Americans --- who are super overrepresented relative to Hispanic and Black profs.
There's a real glass ceiling for Asian-Americans in leadership roles, though.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The share of white male assistant professors *has* declined (47%→ 33% from 2004 to 2024).
This is driven by gains among Asian-Americans --- who are super overrepresented relative to Hispanic and Black profs.
There's a real glass ceiling for Asian-Americans in leadership roles, though.
This is driven by gains among Asian-Americans --- who are super overrepresented relative to Hispanic and Black profs.
There's a real glass ceiling for Asian-Americans in leadership roles, though.
Same pattern for women.
In 2004: 34.7% of senior leaders were women.
In 2024: 58.6%.
This isn’t a weird feature of these universities. 6 out of 8 Ivy League presidents were women by 2023!
But full professors? Moved from 18.2% → 31.1%.
Concrete progress but at half the pace of leadership.
In 2004: 34.7% of senior leaders were women.
In 2024: 58.6%.
This isn’t a weird feature of these universities. 6 out of 8 Ivy League presidents were women by 2023!
But full professors? Moved from 18.2% → 31.1%.
Concrete progress but at half the pace of leadership.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Same pattern for women.
In 2004: 34.7% of senior leaders were women.
In 2024: 58.6%.
This isn’t a weird feature of these universities. 6 out of 8 Ivy League presidents were women by 2023!
But full professors? Moved from 18.2% → 31.1%.
Concrete progress but at half the pace of leadership.
In 2004: 34.7% of senior leaders were women.
In 2024: 58.6%.
This isn’t a weird feature of these universities. 6 out of 8 Ivy League presidents were women by 2023!
But full professors? Moved from 18.2% → 31.1%.
Concrete progress but at half the pace of leadership.
Did anything change after George Floyd?
Senior leadership: +1.08 percentage points more Black after 2020
Assistant Professors: +0.23 percentage points more Black
Leadership was 5x MORE RESPONSIVE to diversity pressures than faculty hiring.
Senior leadership: +1.08 percentage points more Black after 2020
Assistant Professors: +0.23 percentage points more Black
Leadership was 5x MORE RESPONSIVE to diversity pressures than faculty hiring.
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Did anything change after George Floyd?
Senior leadership: +1.08 percentage points more Black after 2020
Assistant Professors: +0.23 percentage points more Black
Leadership was 5x MORE RESPONSIVE to diversity pressures than faculty hiring.
Senior leadership: +1.08 percentage points more Black after 2020
Assistant Professors: +0.23 percentage points more Black
Leadership was 5x MORE RESPONSIVE to diversity pressures than faculty hiring.
Black representation among full professors has stagnated for 30 years.
It *decreased* from 6.4% → 6.0% between 2004-2024.
But Black representation in senior leadership doubled from 6.7% → 11.6%
It *decreased* from 6.4% → 6.0% between 2004-2024.
But Black representation in senior leadership doubled from 6.7% → 11.6%
December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Black representation among full professors has stagnated for 30 years.
It *decreased* from 6.4% → 6.0% between 2004-2024.
But Black representation in senior leadership doubled from 6.7% → 11.6%
It *decreased* from 6.4% → 6.0% between 2004-2024.
But Black representation in senior leadership doubled from 6.7% → 11.6%
Hi! We hope to have a working paper out soon, I will reach back out.
Would love to be in the loop on what you're working on, too: smousa@ucla.edu
Would love to be in the loop on what you're working on, too: smousa@ucla.edu
December 22, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Hi! We hope to have a working paper out soon, I will reach back out.
Would love to be in the loop on what you're working on, too: smousa@ucla.edu
Would love to be in the loop on what you're working on, too: smousa@ucla.edu
I'm sure things look different by dept, with humanities facing more diversification pressures than STEM. The majority of academic jobs are in STEM.
The employee records make parsing departments difficult. Still, looking at the university as a whole helps appropriately size the problem!
The employee records make parsing departments difficult. Still, looking at the university as a whole helps appropriately size the problem!
December 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I'm sure things look different by dept, with humanities facing more diversification pressures than STEM. The majority of academic jobs are in STEM.
The employee records make parsing departments difficult. Still, looking at the university as a whole helps appropriately size the problem!
The employee records make parsing departments difficult. Still, looking at the university as a whole helps appropriately size the problem!
That's definitely possible --- but people (e.g. Compact "Lost Generation" article) fixate on the % Black faculty, which hasn't moved in 30 years. They don't seem to be reacting to where diversification happened; at the top.
December 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
That's definitely possible --- but people (e.g. Compact "Lost Generation" article) fixate on the % Black faculty, which hasn't moved in 30 years. They don't seem to be reacting to where diversification happened; at the top.