Institutional Courage in Action: Racism, Sexual Violence, & Concrete Institutional Change.

Abstract

Hosted and co-sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University in the U.S., the 2022 Center for Institutional Courage: Racism, Sexual Violence, and Institutional Courage Workshop (The Workshop) was held on 18 March 2022. Gathering 27 scholars and advocates, the first half of the day consisted of research presentations on institutional courage (Freyd), the theory of racialized organizations (Ray), and cultural betrayal trauma theory (Gómez). The latter half applied this basic knowledge through a fireside chat discussion of institutional courage in action across inequalities and institutions: employing anti-racist approaches in research with Black families (Weathington), addressing campus sexual violence with male college athletes (Tracy), tackling salary inequity in academia (Delva), and addressing racism and sexism in the workplace using the small wins model (Nishiura Mackenzie). The goals of both The Workshop and our editorial include foci on institutionalized racism and sexual violence, as well as tangible, systemic change through institutional courage (Freyd, 2014, 2018) regarding racist and sexist inequalities across institutions. As such, our editorial follows the above format, with a closing message of validation, hope, and perseverance through institutional courage.