Traci Sitzmann's research focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion—including religion and the gender wage gap, the effect of the gender wage gap on firm performance, and optimizing firms’ diversity and inclusion strategies. Sitzmann also has numerous publications on the effectiveness of online training, maximizing learning and reducing attrition from training, and evaluating training effectiveness. Her research has been published in leading academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin.  Her research has also won multiple awards, including the Financial Times Award for research that has a real-world impact (2023), William A. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award (2023), Academy of Management Journal (2022) paper of the year, the Parasuraman Award for the best journal article in the field of gender and diversity (2022), Laube Community Impact Award (2022), the Responsible Research in Management Award (2021), and Most Important Industrial-Organizational Psychology Article (2021). In addition, her research has been covered by a variety of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNN, and Forbes.

Along with serving the university, Sitzmann currently serves as a scientific advisor for the United States Space Force, providing guidance for creating a more inclusive workforce. She also serves on the GlobalMindED board of directors. Prior to joining the University of Colorado Denver, Sitzmann worked as a consultant for the Department of Defense.

Education

PhD, University of Tulsa

MA, University of Tulsa

BS, Iowa State University

Areas of Expertise

Gender & Wage Allocation

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Employee Resource Groups

Training and Development

Self-Regulation

Multilevel Theory and Methods

Editorial Board

• Academy of Management Journal, 2021-present
• Journal of Applied Psychology, 2014-present
• Personnel Psychology, 2015-present
• Journal of Management, 2019-2021
• Human Resource Management Review, 2017-2018
• Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2014-2015

Select Publications

All publications are available on Google Scholar.

Awards

William A. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award, 2023

Financial Times Award for research that has a real-world impact, 2023

Academy of Management Journal paper of the year award, 2022 

Parasuraman Award for best journal article in the field of gender and diversity, 2022 

Laube Community Impact Award, 2022

Responsible Research in Management Award, 2021

Most Important Industrial-Organizational Psychology Article in the last 5 years, 2021

Talent Science Advisory Group, Space Force, 2021-2022

Academy of Management Responsible Research in Management Award, 2021

Academy of Management Learning & Education Decade Award, given to the most highly cited paper published in the last 10 years, 2020

Ethics Fellowship Award, Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative, 2018

Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2018

Researcher of the Year, University of Colorado Denver Business School, 2017 and 2012

Personnel Psychology Best Reviewer Award, 2017

Finalist for the Personnel Psychology Best Article Award, 2015

Finalist for the Academy of Management Human Resource Division’s Scholarly Achievement Award, 2014

Academy of Management Learning and Education Best Article Award, 2010

Scientist Practitioner Award, University of Tulsa, 2005

Consortium of Universities Research Fellowship, 2003-2005

Research Stories

Management Professor Received Prestigious Award for Inequities Exposed Through Her Research, CU Denver Business School Newsroom, July 29, 2021

Personality matters when looking at career satisfaction, CU Denver Business School Newsroom, February 6, 2019

Breaking down barriers for women in the workplace, CU Denver Business School Newsroom, October 25, 2017

The modern workplace: Researching the relationship between beauty and women’s career success, CU Denver Business School Newsroom, August 21, 2017

Business School professor’s study finds video games highly effective training tool, CU Denver Business School Newsroom, October, 20, 2010