CSLS Special Event – Edelman Memorial Lecture: “Behind the Window Dressing: Micro-Level Drivers of Symbolic Legal Compliance”

Featuring Lauren Rivera, Professor of Sociology and Management & Organizations, Northwestern University

Cosponsored with the Center for Law and Work

The pathbreaking work of Dr. Lauren Edelman illuminates how organizations frequently respond to federal anti-discrimination laws by adopting easy to measure—yet predominantly symbolic—policies and practices aimed at appeasing courts rather than driving real change. In turn, the presence of these surface-level policies becomes the standard of compliance in the face of ambiguous laws, further stifling progress towards equity. Prior work has focused on organizational mechanisms underlying the drive toward symbolic rather than substantive compliance with anti-discrimination law, such as isomorphism, inertia, and decoupling. In this talk, I draw from my own work alongside research in sociology, psychology, and organizational behavior to discuss the social psychological and interpersonal underpinnings of symbolic compliance with anti-discrimination law in workplaces.

Program: 3:00-5:00p.m.
Reception: 5:00p.m.-6:00p.m. 
Light refreshments will be provided.

Register here for the livestream via Zoom.   

 Add this event to your Google Calendar. 

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact csls@law.berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.