Rebecca

Ponce  de  Leon

Assistant Professor | Columbia Business School

I  study  the  organizational and psychological forces  that  contribute  to  inequality,  with  a  focus  on  biases  related  to  social  identity,  category  prototypes,  and  motivated  reasoning.  My  research  is  grounded  in  the  desire  to  better  understand  the  mechanisms  that  hinder  progress  toward  greater  diversity,  equity,  and  inclusion  in  our  workplaces  and  communities.

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Management Division at Columbia Business School . Before that, I received my Ph.D. in Management and Organizations from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. I also have a B. A. in Psychology from Duke (go Blue Devils).

ABOUT

PUBLICATIONS

  • Petsko, C. D., Ponce de Leon, R., & Rosette, A. S. (2025). Beyond the motherhood penalty: Evidence of a (potentially race-based) parenthood boost in workplace evaluations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. [link; data and materials here]

  • Ponce de Leon, R.*  & Bailey, E. R.* (2025). The preeminence of communality in the leadership preferences of followers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. [link; data and materials here]

  • Goya-Tochetto, D., Ponce de Leon, R., & Jost, John T. (2024). A system justification perspective on law, human behavior, and society. Research handbook on law and society.

  • Ponce de Leon, R., Carter, J. T. & Rosette, A. S. (2024). Sincere solidarity or performative pretense? Evaluations of organizational allyship. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. [link; data and materials here]

  • Ma, A., Ponce de Leon, R., & Rosette, A. S. (2023). Asking for less (but receiving more): Women avoid impasses and outperform men when negotiators have weak alternatives. Journal of Applied Psychology. [link; data and materials here]

  • Wingrove, S., Paek, J.J.W.,  Ponce de Leon, R., & Fitzsimons, G.M. (2023). Tying the value of goals to social class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. [link; data and materials here]

  • Kay, A.C.,  Ponce de Leon, R., Kteily, N., & Ho, A.K. (2023). Motivated egalitarianism.  Current Directions in Psychological Science. [link]

  • Ponce de Leon, R.  & Rosette, A.S. (2022). "Invisible" discrimination: Divergent outcomes for the non-prototypicality of Black women.  Academy of Management Journal. [link; data and materials here]

  •  Ponce de Leon, R.*, Rifkin, J.R.*, & Larrick, R.P. (2022). "They're everywhere!": Symbolically threatening groups seem more pervasive than non-threatening groups. Psychological Science.  [link; data and materials here]

  •  Carter, J.T. &  Ponce de Leon, R.  (2022). Double jeopardy or intersectional invisibility? Reconciling (seemingly) opposing perspectives.  Research on social issues in management (V. 3): The Future of scholarship on race in organizations.

  • ​Ponce de Leon, R.  & Kay, A.C. (2021). Ironic egalitarianism: When hierarchy-attenuating motives increase hierarchy-enhancing beliefs.  Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. [link;  data and materials here]

  • ​Ponce de Leon, R., Wingrove, S., & Kay, A.C. (2020). Scientific skepticism and inequality: Political and ideological roots.  Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. [link; data and materials here]

  • ​Ponce de Leon, R.  & Kay, A.C. (2020). Political ideology and compensatory control mechanisms.  Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. [link] 

  •  Rosette, A.S.,  Ponce de Leon, R., Koval, C.Z., & Harrison, D.A. (2018). Intersectionality: Connecting experiences of gender with race at work.  Research in Organizational Behavior. [link]

SELECT WORK IN PROGRESS

  • White, M. W. & Ponce de Leon, R. The emotional effects of AI- generated versus human-created art. Revise and resubmit at Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

  • Ponce de Leon, R.*, Rifkin, J. R.*, & Sharma, E. The emotional health tax.  Under review at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  

  • Ponce de Leon, R.* & Du, K. M.* Stigma and authenticity. Working paper.

  • Ponce de Leon, R.  & Carter, J. T. Job fit and DEI leadership. Working paper.

  • Seegars, L. B. &  Ponce de Leon, R. Intersectionality and identity-based coalitions. Working paper.​

  • Zambrotta, N., Ponce de Leon, R., White, M. W., Boland, F. K. & Akinola, M. A. Closing the racial authenticity gap in teams. Working paper.

  • White, M. W., Ponce de Leon, R., & Akinola, M. A. Awe and organizational inclusivity. Writing stage.

  • ​Ponce de Leon, R., Kim, J. Y., & Kay, A. C. Femininity, masculinity, and workplace gender equality. Data collection.

  • McMahon, C. E. , Ponce de Leon, R., & Brown, N. D. The relationship between White women and women of color. Data collection.

  • Mittal, A., Horton, C. B., & Ponce de Leon, R. Personal identity expression in professional contexts. Data collection.