3^rd Equitable Opportunity Conference:

Diagnosing and Addressing Inequality Mechanisms

Call for Papers

May 15-16, 2026

Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal

Organizers: Lisa Cohen & HJ Jung (McGill) and Chris Rider (Michigan)

Submission Deadline: February 28, 2026

We use the term “equitable opportunity” deliberately. “Equitable” indicates circumstances in which no disparities result from “differential treatment” (i.e., unequal treatment yields different outcomes) or “disparate impact” (i.e., equivalent treatment yields different outcomes). “Opportunity” highlights possibilities to obtain an education or a job, launch a business, experience socioeconomic mobility, etc. that vary across people, time, and place. “Equitable Opportunity”, therefore, focuses us on understanding and addressing situations where differential treatment or disparate impact generate uneven distributions that violate our notions of equity.

The conference aims to:

• Promote equity research on organizations that spans disciplines and fields, highlighting novel theories, methodologies, findings, and implications for research, practice, and policy.
• Foster the exchange of ideas and practices among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, bridging gaps between theory and practice.
• Facilitate research collaborations between researchers and organizations interested in  collaborating on research projects, policymaking, and organizational interventions.
• Feature multidisciplinary approaches to understanding the equity challenge that organizational leaders face as they try to be inclusive of diverse notions of fairness and justice. 

Preliminary Program Highlights

Keynote Address: Damon Phillips (Wharton)

Plenary Speakers: Laura Adler (Yale), Stephanie Creary (Wharton), Sonia Kang (Toronto), Zoe Kinias (Western Ontario), and András Tilcsik (Toronto)

• Editors’ panel featuring editors from top journals like AMJ, ASQ, MS, and Organization Science.
• Informal networking opportunities.
• Pre-conference workshop for PhD students

Call for Presentations and Posters

Submissions are invited from faculty, doctoral students, and researchers on equity and opportunity in organizations.

Submission Guidelines

·       Contact name, affiliation/institution, and email address.

·       Names and affiliations of all contributing authors in order.

·       Presenter’s name, affiliation/institution, and email address.

• Title of the presentation.
• Short abstract (max 150 words) for the program.
• Indicate your preference for presentation type:  (1) oral paper presentation; (2) poster presentation; or (3) either oral or poster.
• Extended abstract (max 1,500 words) with sections: (1) Motivation & Research Question; (2) Theoretical Objectives, (3) Methodological Approach; (4) Data & Results (if applicable); (5) Intended Contribution; and (6) Relevance for the “Equitable Opportunities” Theme.

Submissions should be entered here. The deadline is February 28, 2026.

Conference submissions will be reviewed by the EOC Scientific Review Committee. Papers will also be considered for publication in a volume of Research in the Sociology of Organizations on this theme.

Pre-Conference Doctoral Student Workshop

Doctoral students may also apply to attend a doctoral student pre-conference workshop on the morning of Friday, May 15th.  Interested applicants should submit a CV and a statement of no more than two pages here. The statement should specifically describe how their research addresses the concept of “equitable opportunities” and why they wish to participate.

Registration

This year, we will charge a nominal registration fee and offer fee waivers to scholars who lack funding to attend this conference. Information on how to register will be distributed after the paper submission deadline. Space will be limited but we hope to include attendees who do not submit papers.

Scholars at all career stages are encouraged to submit proposals. We also encourage submissions from practitioners who are interested in engaging researchers on the concept of equitable opportunities.

The conference will begin with lunch on Friday,  May 15th and will end about 5pm on Saturday, May 16th. For more information, please contact Chris Rider at riderci@umich.edu or Lisa Cohen at lisa.cohen2@mcgill.ca.