Professors Big Idea Tackles Diversity and Inclusion Through the Empathy Lens

The proposed Empathy Lens is a virtual reality application that allows users to understand the perceptions and emotions of others

Diversity and inclusion are not new concepts. However, headline-grabbing events from the past year have refocused ideas about how diversity and inclusion can be achieved in organizations and in society at large. 

Beth Chung, management professor from the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University, has studied diversity and inclusion in the workplace for over 25 years. Chung became interested in the topic as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley when she took a class on industrial/organizational psychology with Professor Sheldon Zedeck. 

After earning her master’s and doctorate degrees in industrial/organizational psychology at the University of Maryland (College Park), Chung taught at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University for four years before returning to her roots in Southern California by joining the faculty at SDSU in 2000. 

Becoming a Subject Matter Expert

At SDSU, Chung quickly established herself as an expert in the fields of organizational behavior, leadership, and diversity and inclusion by teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses in these areas, publishing research on these topics, and working with local companies to increase their awareness in the areas of diversity and inclusion.

Beth Chung is a management professor at SDSU's Fowler College of Business

In 2007, Chung and former SDSU management professor, Lynn Shore, established the Institute on Inclusiveness and Diversity in Organizations (IIDO).  The IIDO includes a number of SDSU management professors who focused their research and teaching on human resources and organizational behavior. “Lynn and I felt there were a group of researchers in SDSU’s business school that could come together to create a solid research collective,” said Chung. “We were both interested in diversity and we knew that a new field of inclusion was just starting to evolve, so we felt it was a great time to start the IIDO. I’m happy to report that since 2007, the members of the IIDO are now regarded as thought leaders in the field of inclusion.” 

According to Chung, legislation has helped with the advancement of diversity and inclusion initiatives such that overt racism, sexism, religious and other biases have declined over the years. “But covert, subversive and unconscious racism/sexism/religious bias is still around,” she said. “I think that people just aren’t willing to tolerate it anymore and it finally came to a head this summer. Now the country and the world are finally facing issues that have been hidden for a long time and companies, governments, universities and others now need to come together to understand how to truly embrace diversity and inclusion.”

The Big Idea

With that in mind, teams led by Chung and SDSU’s chief academic technology officer and associate vice president, James Frazee, have joined forces under the university’s Big Ideas Initiative to use technology to help individuals develop empathy for those within our workplaces and our lives. Their idea, the Empathy Lens, allows participants to view a scenario (for example, a team meeting) through a virtual reality headset. Participants will, in essence, be able to experience the thoughts and feelings of each person in the scenario.  “This kind of learning has been proven to be much more effective than conventional ways of learning,” said Chung.

The idea behind the Empathy Lens is based on how various leaders may not see biases that they have or that are inherent in their organizations even though they believe they are treating everyone equally. “Organizations who adhere to the ‘we are equal’ philosophy often end up being truly inclusive of employees only if they assimilate into the dominant culture,” said Chung. “The definition of empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of someone else. Our project is really about gaining perspective of what someone else is feeling and thinking, and through using virtual tools, we’re able to do that. As a result, leaders and employees can learn to be truly inclusive based on integrating differences not forcing similarities.

While Chung and Frazee’s team are drafting the specifics for a prototype, they are also preparing to present their “Big Idea” through a university-wide video showcase slated for March 18, 2021.