[MetaSTEM] Fw: MCS Seminar next Friday – Dr Vartuhi Tonoyan, CSU Fresno

[Alexander Petersen]

Hi all,

Wanted to let you know that the MCS Seminar tomorrow at 12:30-1:30 in SSM 203 will feature Dr. Vartuhi Tonoyan, an entrepreneurship scholar from CSU Fresno who will give a seminar titled "Gendered Signals in High-Tech Startup Hiring and Their Implications for Talent Attraction"  -- flyer attached, also see more talk info below.

Hope to see you there!

Best, -alex

________________________________
From: Alexander Petersen <apetersen3 at ucmerced.edu>
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2026 2:46 PM
To: MCS Graduate Students <mcsgradstudents at ucmerced.edu>; SoE MCS Core Faculty <soe-mcs-core-faculty at ucmerced.edu>
Subject: MCS Seminar next Friday – Dr Vartuhi Tonoyan, CSU Fresno

Hi all,

Please join us next Friday, March. 20 from 12:30-1:30 in SSM 203 for the continuation of our Management of Complex Systems seminar series.
[A note to all continuing MCS PhD students - you are expected to attend, ideally in person, and independent of enrollment in MIST 251.]

Our speaker is Dr. Vartuhi Tonoyan, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management at CSU Fresno, who will be joining us in-person to present:

Gendered Signals in High-Tech Startup Hiring and Their Implications for Talent Attraction
We examine a critical yet underexplored aspect of human resource management in nascent technology ventures: employee recruitment. Applying theories of gender stereotyping, we contend that female-led technology startups face greater obstacles in attracting job applicants than their male counterparts. Evidence from a randomized online experiment conducted in 2020/2021 with 777 US job seekers substantiates this barrier, indicating that the disparities are partly rooted in gender-stereotypical perceptions of female technology entrepreneurs as less competent, agentic, and warm, which contribute to less favorable assessments of their ventures' economic potential and employee empowerment potential. Startups with gender-diverse leadership teams appear to overcome these biases. Confirmatory evidence comes from a 2024 replication study with 455 US job seekers, underscoring the need to address gender biases in the technological ecosystem.

Tonoyan, Strohmeyer & Jennings. Working for Jessica or Michael? Implications of gender stereotypes for job application intentions at technology startups<https://sms.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sej.1522>. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 2025.

Bio: Dr. Tonoyan explores research questions at the intersection of gender, entrepreneurship, and social class, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation in mature and emerging markets, and has received multiple research awards (e.g., Academy of Management Meeting's Best Paper Award, Responsible Research in Business and Management Honor Roll, Kauffman Foundation Best Paper Award, and the DIANA International Research Conference). In 2024, she received the Craig School of Business Faculty Award for Research.  [Web Profile<https://craig.fresnostate.edu/about/directory/mgt/tonoyan-vartuhi.html>].

*******
MCS Seminar Series Information:

The Spring 2026 MCS seminar schedule is available at https://mcs.ucmerced.edu/seminars

Several of our external guest speakers will be joining us virtually via Zoom [meeting link<https://ucmerced.zoom.us/j/4752468252>] although we will be meeting in SSM 203.

Please contact Alex Petersen (apetersen3 at ucmerced.edu<mailto:apetersen3 at ucmerced.edu>) for more information.


______________________________________________________________
Alex Petersen, PhD
Associate Professor & MIST Graduate Group Chair
Management of Complex Systems Department
School of Engineering
University of California, Merced
Research Website<http://faculty.ucmerced.edu/alexpetersen/>
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