Equity and Diversity in Behavior Analysis: Lessons From Skinner (1945)
Equity gaps are just behavior—change the contingencies and the gaps close.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Szabo (2020) looked at why women and minorities are scarce in behavior-analysis jobs.
The paper treats these gaps as learned behaviors that organizations keep doing.
It asks: what immediate, behavior-based steps can we take to change the pattern?
What they found
The author found no magic fix, but a clear lens: equity gaps are maintained by current contingencies.
Change the contingencies—job ads, hiring panels, mentorship rules—and the gaps can shrink.
How this fits with other research
Beene (2019) made the same point a year earlier: diversity is behavior, so use behavior tools.
Jaramillo et al. (2022) narrowed the lens to racial implicit bias and handed BCBAs self-monitoring sheets—an example of the "immediate actions" Szabo wants.
Fong et al. (2016) set the stage by urging cultural awareness first; Szabo adds the equity frame and tells us to act now, not just notice.
Why it matters
You can stop waiting for HR to fix equity. Map who gets invited to CEU events, who gets mentored, who gets asked to speak. Put a contingency on each step—track it, graph it, reinforce change. Monday, audit your next training flyer: does it reach beyond your usual network? If not, rewrite and resend.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Several authors have written about the disparity between our values statements concerning gender equity and diversity and the behavior of our professional organizations. In this article, I argue that this is a predictable by-product of our collective cultural learning histories, that we have access to the variables that must be manipulated to alter this behavioral trajectory, and that now is the time to apply the principles of behavior toward changing our current repertoire. As a case in point, I provide evidence regarding the current state of the efforts within psychology and behavior analysis to ensure gender equity, and end with a series of recommendations for institutions and individual leaders to enact toward the presumably valued outcomes of equity and, more broadly speaking, diversity.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00414-1