Erin Cech

A photo of Erin Cech wearing a black jacket and looking into the camera with one hand under her chin in front of a gray background.
University of Michigan
Professor of Sociology and Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Erin Cech (she/her) is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy) at the University of Michigan. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from UC San Diego, undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Sociology from Montana State University. Cech’s research examines cultural mechanisms of inequality reproduction in the workforce broadly and STEM fields specifically. Her work is funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation and has appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Advances, and the American Sociological Review. It has been covered by The New York Times, NPR, Washington Post, and the news sections of Science and Nature. Cech is the author of two recent books: The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality (2021) and Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering (with M. Blair-Loy; 2022). In 2020, she was named one of Business Equality Magazine’s “40 LGBTQ+ Leaders Under 40.”



Other Profiles you might like

A headshot of Jenny Frank smiling at the camera in front of bookshelves

Jenny Frank

Jenny Frank is the Director of the STEM Ecosystem Initiative at TIES Gobal, where she leads a community of practice of 120+ community-based STEM ecosystems across 43 states and 8

Read More »
A headshot of Maria Cuevas smiling at the camera

Maria Cuevas

Maria Cuevas is a senior at Columbia University majoring in Astrophysics. She is interested in building instruments and data-driven software to expand our ability to detect and study exoplanets. In the fall,

Read More »
A headshot of Katherine Wetmur smiling at the camera

Katherine Wetmur

Katherine Wetmur is a Managing Director and the Chief Information Officer for Cyber, Data, Risk and Resilience at Morgan Stanley; in this role, she oversees global efforts to strengthen cybersecurity,

Read More »
A headshot of Sandra Laursen smiling at the camera

Sandra Laursen

Sandra Laursen, Ph.D., is senior research associate and director of Ethnography & Evaluation Research (E&ER) at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she leads research and evaluation studies focusing on

Read More »
NCWIT
Scroll to Top