McCauley Finnegan is graduating with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Management with a minor in Strategic Communications for her hard work with her thesis titled “Fear of Litigation and Efforts to Increase Diversity and Inclusion.” McCauley is originally from Park City, Utah and plans to work in diversity and inclusion management after graduation. Additionally, she wants to make an ongoing effort to continue her education and further her understanding of these topics, whether that’s through post-graduate programs or professional experiences. In the future, she also plans to start a consulting company that focuses on diversity and inclusion, with the goal of helping companies to not only develop D&I initiatives but also aid in improving cultural competency and intercultural communication for global organizations. Congratulations McCauley, and welcome to your alumni network! Read on to learn more about McCauley’s thesis and her answers to our questions about her Eccles Experience.
Tell us something about your thesis – your research, your findings, or what you learned:
I researched the unintended fear of litigation created by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and anti-discrimination laws. Particularly, I evaluated whether this is stifling organizations’ conversations around diversity and managers’ ability to gather accurate and useful metrics for creating inclusion. This involved interviewing a wide variety of diversity managers, human resource directors, communication directors, and independent consultants about how EEOC requirements impact their ability to implement diversity and inclusion programs, create a culture of belonging, collect identity metrics for their initiatives and goals, and navigate conversations within their organizations. In doing so, I was surprised to learn how differently diversity and inclusion is managed by various types of organizations and their leaders. I also found that these regulations that were designed to prevent discrimination in the 1960’s need to be updated to be more inclusive and representative of our modern categories of identity and understanding of intersectionality.
What was your most memorable experience as an Eccles student?
Being a board member for Women in Business (WIB) was undoubtedly the highlight of my experience as an Eccles student. Having the opportunity to work alongside other driven women to support our female identifying peers, develop programming, build allyship, and create a more inclusive environment for Eccles students was invaluable in so many ways. My experience with Eccles Global in Paris, France was also one I will never forget and remains one of my favorite memories yet.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank, acknowledge or shout out?
Dr. Harris Sondak, Dr. Jennifer Cummings, and Tara Hardison. All of them have been fundamental to my success as a student and growth as an individual, and my collegiate experience wouldn’t have been nearly as phenomenal without them.
