Distinguished university professor
Social psychologist Naomi Ellemers examines the behavior of people in organizations. Her main topics of expertise are Diversity and Inclusion, and Integrity and Ethics at work.
To investigate the behavior of people in organizations, Naomi Ellemers combines experimental methodologies examining brain activity and stress with observations of people in the workplace. Her aim is to understand how group affiliations impact on individual behaviors in organizations. In her diversity lab, she identifies the work experiences of women, ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBT community. In her integrity lab, she also examines how individuals are guided by the ethical climate at work, for instance in the financial sector.
Ellemers was elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Among the distinctions she received is the NWO-Spinoza Award.
She is member of the supervisory board of PwC the Netherlands, and chair of the Kurt Lewin Institute. She is one of the initiators of the National Integration Fund and one of Athena’s Angels.
From 2020 -2022 she was chair of the KNAW Committee on Roots and Prevention of Inappropriate Behaviour in Academia
Queen bees are women in positions of authority who are more critical of female subordinates. Sixteen years ago a classic study found that female university professors succumbed to queen bee syndrome in their evaluations of female graduate students. New research indicates that queen bees are still going strong, but the researchers suggest that we shouldn’t be trying to fix the women. Instead, it’s our organizations that need help.