Discrimination and Homophily

The goal of this chapter is to use the framework developed thus far in the book to address the question: how do discriminatory conventions and norms influence patterns of interaction? In particular, the models presented will highlight causal processes that can lead to homophily, or disproportionate in-group interaction, as a result of discrimination. The chapter uses academic communities as a case study throughout. Actors are modeled on interactive networks, where they prefer to link with partners who yield higher payoffs. The suggestion is that when women get less academic credit, they learn to avoid collaborating with men as a result. However, when certain groups have advantages that lead to more significant production of credit, this trend can reverse. In these cases, a disadvantaged group may be willing to share credit inequitably to have access to a collaborator who generates more credit.