people

Sarah Thébaud

Sarah Thébaud
Sociology
UCSB
Associate Professor

Sarah Thébaud is a sociologist who investigates how micro-level social psychological processes, together with societal-level institutions, reproduce particularly persistent forms of gender inequality in the economy, such as men’s overrepresentation in entrepreneurship, scientific research, and innovation. Often focusing on cross-cultural comparisons, her research is based on varying data sources, including laboratory studies, large-scale surveys, and in-depth interviews. Examples of current projects include 1) an analysis of the effect of the financial crisis on gender inequity in high-tech start-up investment, 2) an investigation of the role of graduate school experiences on gender disparities in STEM disciplines, and 3) a study of the impact of social policies on young men’s and women’s stated work-family preferences. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Grants, Awards and Distinctions:

TESS: Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences Grant, 2016. "Opting into Work-Family Policies: Comparing the Effects of Material and Cultural Concerns." (with David Pedulla). $15,880.

Kauffman Foundation Grant; 2015. “Increasing Women’s Representation in Entrepreneurial Activity: A Longitudinal Study of the Rising Tide Program.” With Renee Rottner, Kyle Lewis, Joseph Broschak, and Christine Beckman. $60,900.

Kauffman Foundation Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research. 2015. $35,000

Lee-Chin Institute for Corporate Citizenship, University of Toronto. 2015; “Beyond Relational Lending: Interpersonal Ties and Gender Expectations in Commercial Microfinance” (with Laura Doering) $7,850

ISBER Social Science Research Grants Program (SSRGP), University of California, Santa Barbara. 2013. “Leaning in or Leaning Out? Unpacking Biased Self-Assessments of Ability as a Theory of Gendered Career Choices” $8,000 

Publications

Thébaud, Sarah and Maria Charles. 2022. 
"Who’s a Good Fit? Segregation, Stereotypes and STEM. "
Social Stratification: Class Race and Gender in Sociological Perspective, David Grusky, Nima Dahir and Claire Daviss, Editors. Routlege.
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah and Catherine J. Taylor. 2021.
"The Specter of Motherhood: Culture and the Production of Gendered Career Aspirations in Science and Engineering."
Gender & Society 35(3): 395-421.
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2019.
"How to Close the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship.”"
Pp. 69-72 in New Visions for Gender Equality. Edited by Niall Crowley and Silvia Sansonetti. Brussels: European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/saage_report-new_visions_for_gender_equality-2019.pdf
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah, Sabino Kornrich and Leah Ruppanner. 2019. 
"Good Housekeeping, Great Expectations: Gender and Housework Norms. "
Sociological Methods and Research
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah and Laura Halcomb. 2019. 
"One Step Forward? Advances and Setbacks on the Path Toward Gender Equality in Families and Work. "
Sociology Compass.  
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah and Maria Charles. 2018. 
"Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM."
Social Sciences 7(7):1-19.
Research Themes:
Byrne, Janice, Salma Fattoum and Sarah Thébaud. 2018.
"A Suitable Boy? Gendered Roles and Hierarchies in Family Business Succession"
European Management Review. 
Research Themes:
Charles, Maria and Sarah Thébaud, eds. Forthcoming. 
"Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics."
Basel: MDPI Press.
Research Themes:
Doering, Laura and Sarah Thébaud. 2017.
"The Effects of Gendered Occupational Roles on Men's and Women's Workplace Authority: Evidence from Microfinance."
American Sociological Review 82(3):542-567. 
Research Themes:
Weeden, Kim A., Sarah Thébaud, and Dafna Gelbgiser. 2017.
"Degrees of Difference: Gender Segregation of US Doctorates by Field and Institutional Prestige."
Sociological Science 4:123-150. 
Research Themes:
Kuwabara, Ko and Sarah Thébaud. 2017.
"When Beauty Doesn't Pay: Gender and Beauty Biases among Entrepreneurs in a Peer-to-peer Loan Market."
Social Forces 95(4): 1371-1398. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2016. 
"Passing up the Job: The Role of Gendered Organizations and Families in the Entrepreneurial Career Process."
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah and David S. Pedulla. (equal authorship). 2016.
"Masculinity and the Stalled Revolution: How Gender Ideologies and Norms Shape Young Men's Responses to Work-Family Policies."
Gender & Society 30(4):590-617.
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah and Amanda J. Sharkey. 2016. 
"Unequal Hard Times: The Influence of The Great Recession on Gender Bias in Entrepreneurial Investment Markets."
Sociological Science3:1-31. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2016. 
"In Countries with Little Work-Family Support, Many Women Opt for Self-Employment."
London School of Economics Business Review. January 12. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2015. 
"Business as Plan B? Institutional Foundations of Gender Inequality in Entrepreneurship across 24 Industrialized Countries."
Administrative Science Quarterly 60(4):671-711.
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2015. 
"What Helps Women Entrepreneurs Flourish?"
Briefing paper prepared for the Council on Contemporary Families. November 5. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah and David S. Pedulla. 2015. 
"The Benefits to a Paid Family Leave Law that Nobody is Talking About."
The Huffingtion Post. February 12. Reprinted in The Contra Costa Times and The Oakland Tribune. Feb. 14. 
Thébaud, Sarah. 2015. 
"Status Beliefs and the Spirit of Capitalism: Accounting for Gender Biases in Entrepreneurship and Innovation."
Social Forces 94: 61-86.
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2015. 
"How the Myth of 'Lone Warrior' Entrepreneur Penalizes Women."
The Conversation. March 6.
Research Themes:
David S. Pedulla and Sarah Thébaud. 2015. 
"Leaning in at Work and at Home: Why Workplace Policies Matter."
The Conversation. January 29. 
Research Themes:
Pedulla, David S. and Sarah Thébaud (equal authorship). 2015.
"Can We Finish the Revolution? Gender, Work-Family Ideals, and Institutional Constraint."
American Sociological Review.
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2015. 
"Stronger Work-Family Policies Help Women Build Better Businesses."
The Conversation. November 19. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah, with Patricia Greene. 2015. 
"State of the Field: Gender."
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. February 19. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2014. 
"Can we pull back the curtain on old-fashioned assumptions?"
Gender & Society blog posting. 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2014. Review of
"Into the fire: Disaster and the Remaking of Gender"
American Journal of Sociology 119 (6). 
Research Themes:
Thébaud, Sarah. 2013. 
"Entrepreneurship"
Pp. 251-254 in Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia edited by Vicki Smith. Sage Publications. 
Thébaud, Sarah. 2013. Review of
"Women at Work: Tupperware, Passion Parties, and Beyond"
Social Forces.
Research Themes: