Interview: a retrospective account of Faye Crosby's life and research

Abstract

Purpose

Over the past 40 years Faye Crosby's research, teaching, and mentorship has touched and influenced students, researchers, and academic institutions. Faye's early work focused on gender inequity and relative deprivation, providing her with insight into a surprising phenomenon – the denial of personal discrimination. Armed with the knowledge that individuals are often unaware of personal discrimination, Faye's later work focused on advocating for institutional protections in the form of affirmative action. The focus of this interview is to simultaneously pay homage to Faye's innovative research while highlighting the ways that Faye's motivations, inspirations, and personal experiences have influenced her body of work.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is based on an interview with Faye Crosby by the authors in October of 2006.

Findings

Faye Crosby's work in the field of social psychology has influenced a great deal of social justice inquiry, including research related to gender equity, discrimination, relative deprivation, mentoring, and affirmative action. She describes herself as a social psychologist and a feminist empiricist. She asserts that her greatest contribution to the field is her ability to organize and categorize research findings in novel ways, elucidating new themes. Faye has published over 150 articles, books, and chapters both individually and in collaboration.

Originality/value

This retrospective account updates previous interviews of the prominent scholar, Faye Crosby, whose life work has been dedicated to social justice and equal access to opportunities.

Citation

Schmukler, K.R. and Franco‐Zamudio, J.L. (2007), "Interview: a retrospective account of Faye Crosby's life and research", Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 233-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150710735507