Across households and workplaces, specific roles fall into place so quietly that few ever question how they came to be.
That quiet pattern, and the ways gender can guide it, is where Assistant Professor of Management Ezgi Ozgumus begins her work. At the Stern School of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi, Ozgumus studies how those roles form and what they mean for everyday decisions.
“I was always really passionate about the challenges women face,” she says. “Even before I understood the research, I understood the urgency.”
During high school in Istanbul, Ozgumus dreamed of becoming a lawyer so she could advocate for gender equality, until an organizational behavior course at Boğaziçi University changed her trajectory.
“In college, I started really narrowing down my interest into women’s and men’s workplace issues,” she recalls. “Over the years, I've experienced many of the issues I study today. There’s a saying that research is me-search, and I really like that.”
Her study at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis deepened that focus, followed by doctoral work at London Business School. A turning point, she says, came through community.
“Along the way, I met incredibly smart and supportive women who believed in me,” she says. “Their encouragement showed me the impact of women championing one another.”
The asymmetry effect
Her current work centers on what scholars term the “asymmetrical change in gender roles,” exploring how societal expectations have evolved at different speeds.
Opportunities for women in the workforce have grown rapidly, but expectations around caregiving and household responsibilities have not shifted at the same pace, creating asymmetry.
Her research examines how changing expectations across work and home life can influence people’s sense of responsibility. She finds that many women feel a strong need to succeed in both spheres simultaneously, something that men rarely do, which can create pressures for women that are difficult to reconcile. This dynamic, she explains, can shape how women approach their careers. Her goal is to help organizations see these choices in context.
“What may appear to be a personal decision is often linked to broader structural factors,” she says. “Once you see that connection, the patterns make far more sense.”
Another thread of her work, which she attributes to collaborators, examines women’s interconnected social networks in entrepreneurship — a study of trust, community, and how these networks can buffer against stereotype-driven pressures. Throughout her research, she emphasizes transparency, open science, and rigorous statistical methods.
New horizons at NYUAD
Her move to Stern at NYUAD in 2023 marked a new chapter. She applied “way before the deadline,” she says, drawn by Stern’s reputation and NYUAD’s ambition.
When she visited the UAE for the first time after receiving her offer, the decision felt instinctive. “I fell in love with the country,” she says. “I loved how locals and expats lived in such harmony. It felt peaceful. I saw myself thriving here.”
She has also been encouraged by the UAE’s investment in talent and innovation, and by the strong presence of women in classrooms and workplaces. “There’s a huge emphasis on creating equal opportunities,” she says. “I see very family-friendly policies that help women thrive in the workplace.”
She hopes both scholarship and industry worldwide will take a closer look at workplace norms that prioritize constant availability. “I would want organizations to change this always-on culture,” she says.
“Everybody wants a healthy balance. We need to recognize workers as people with full lives.”
Her long-term goals reflect both her academic training and her personal commitment. “I want my research to help women recognize the double standards they’re often measured against,” she says. “Eventually, I hope to create research-based interventions that meaningfully shift workplace norms. Even small changes can open doors for the next generation.”
