The Power Of 'Nudges' -- And Why Attorneys Should 'Nudge' More In 2017

Insights from Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio, a researcher focused on human behavior, organizational culture, and economics.

Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio

Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio

“Aim and I shoot for the stars / At the awards I ain’t win no awards / Only meaning one thing, don’t get tired, I go hard.” Kevin Gates

Women now make up the majority of law students in our country. But more law degrees for women doesn’t necessarily translate to better job prospects. In fact, new research indicates that female law students are clustered in lower-ranked schools, and fewer women are enrolled in the country’s most prestigious institutions, according to Elizabeth Olson of the New York Times.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to catch up with Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio, a Ph.D., LL.M., J.D., and the Faculty Chair of the Executive Leadership Research Initiative for Women and Minority Attorneys (ELRIWMA) at the Center for the Legal Profession at Harvard Law School and a Senior Research Fellow, jointly appointed at Harvard Law School (PON) and at the Harvard Kennedy School (Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP)).

Dimeglio’s research focuses on the complex intersection between human behavior, organizational culture, and economics. Dimeglio’s work has recently been featured in articles such as To Hire More Women, Follow These Steps and Does Your Firm’s Website Repel Women? Next month, and throughout the year, several more organizations will publish her findings on how small actions can have a tremendous impact. For instance, some nudges have led to double-digit increases in the hiring of women.

In the meantime, here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation:

RC: You design solutions to attract, recruit, sustain, and promote more women in leadership roles. What motivates your work?

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Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio (PCD):  My own personal and professional experience as a lawyer is an influence, but what truly motivates me every day is something bigger – it is the contribution I can make and particularly the seeds I can plant to change our world for the better. This is something my grandparents and my parents have taught me and done for me, and it is what I am hoping to do for my children and grandchildren.

You know the adage: don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Furthermore, as you know, all the research that I’ve done and others have done demonstrates that diversity, broadly speaking, actually leads to better outcomes. I think the best outcomes largely come from diversity of thought and diversity in the way we solve problems.

Renwei Chung (RC): You have had a couple pieces of research recently published about the benefits of “nudges.” Can you tell us what you mean by this term?

PCD: Well, let me start by telling you that before research reaches the general public it too often takes longer than it should. The work you mentioned that was just published in the American Lawyer, for instance, is the outcome of several years of work with various domestic and international law firms.

I am very grateful to my colleagues and peers such as Daniel Kahneman, Cass Sunstein, Daniel Ariely, Kathleen Mcginn and Iris Bohnet who have laid the groundwork for bringing the notion of “nudges” to the general public. In a nutshell, while there are quite a few versions of nudges, basically it’s the application of findings from psychology and behavioral  economics  to  prompt  people and organizations  to  make  decisions that are consistent with their long-term goals.  In fact, I will say that closing the gender gap in our profession is feasible in practice by using nudges.

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Once the stages women move through – from potential applicant all the way to leadership roles such as partner and equity partner – are segmented and defined, we can begin to identify the points at which these processes are impeded or biased.

Processes can then be redesigned, and (with the commitment of the leadership) an organization’s behavior can be modified to remove the barriers and biases that keep women out. These targeted modifications and redesigns I call “nudges.” In sum, nudges are change strategies implemented by organizations and carried out by the individuals within that organization. Nudges are action-oriented and effective; they are built on carefully analyzed data analytics.

RC: You mentioned that numbers don’t lie, that numbers tell a story and we must find out this story. You have said the legal profession needs an intervention. Yet, you remain very optimistic there will be increased diversity and inclusion in the profession. Why?

PCD: First, let me say that numbers give the ability to identify patterns, develop new tools, and overall improve approaches to tackle problems. It’s a wealth of information. You don’t simply rely on your gut feeling. You are making informed or evidence-based choices. The data analytics ecosystem approach offers ways to deal with the challenge of achieving scaled solutions in a meaningful and efficient way to increase diversity and inclusion.

Second, my optimism is grounded in the work that I am doing with several international and domestic law firms. They very much recognize this as a strategic issue, and they have a true willingness to better represent the clients they want to serve. It is a critical piece of the equation. You need to have people inside the company who reflect the people you’re trying to serve. More and more organizations today see that achieving diversity requires investing in mechanisms to encourage diversity and are willing to make that investment.

RC: Based on the data, preferences, and choices you have researched, what are some of the root causes for the lack of diversity in the profession?

PCD: This is a very complex question, and there is no easy way to respond to it, but let me say that we have really stalled in progress on gender diversity, to the point where it will now likely take more than 100 years to reach parity. I think everyone can agree that’s a dissatisfying conclusion and raises a lot of questions about what needs to be done differently.

Everyone assumes the reason women are not moving into leadership roles or moving into the more senior ranks of a firm is really simple: that women have children, and that they leave the workforce. But that’s just a fraction of what’s going on.

The root causes are way more complex that we often think. For instance, what plays a role is how performance is measured, unconscious biases in hiring and promotion decisions, and the image a firm’s website conveys, which may undermine its hiring objectives. It is like an iceberg: we often see only the top of the iceberg, but the bottom is often way deeper and wider than you can see and or imagine.

RC: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

PCD: First, I want to thank them for reading this article and you, Renwei, for the opportunity to share with you some of my work. Second, I will tell them that they are the agents of change, and that we can close the gender gap and bring a more diverse leadership in our profession.

RC: On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio for sharing her findings with our audience. We wish her continued success in her research and work.

Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio can be reached at pcecchidimeglio@law.harvard.edu and you can follow her on Twitter at @HLSPaola.


Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.