PhD Team
Soha Abboud
Soha Abboud is a PhD candidate in Social and Cross-Cultural Psychology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a Teaching Assistant at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. Her research interests include perceived discrimination, social identity, acculturation, and inter-minority intergroup relations.
Her current research focuses on investigating the mechanisms that promote solidarity among disadvantaged groups.
She holds a double Master’s degree in Social and Intercultural Psychology, as well as in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology. In addition to her research, she has practical experience in intercultural training and promoting diversity. She has previously worked as a project manager and trainer, developing and delivering workshops focused on intercultural awareness and promoting diversity for professionals in the social sector.
Abigail Alves
Abigail Alves is a PhD candidate at the CEBRIG and Cescup under the supervision of Prof. Claudia Toma and Prof. Pinar Celik.
Her research focuses on diversity and leadership : investigating how job autonomy but also interpersonal dynamics (manager-employee relationships) shape ethnic minority leadership emergence. She also holds a Master in Social, Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Lorraine (France) and practices as a consultant work psychologist.
Joseph Mumbanza
Joseph Mumbanza Ngeke is a PhD student in social and organizational psychology at the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology and the Centre Emile Bernheim de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Gestion at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
His research focuses on gender equality policies, discrimination, diversity management policies and perceived organizational hypocrisy.
Julia Oberlin
Julia Oberlin is a PhD student in Management Sciences and Social Psychology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Her work focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of DEI policies and their impact on reducing disparities between disadvantaged and advantaged groups, taking into account both their objective and subjective status. Her doctoral project is part of an applied PhD funded by Innoviris (Brussels Region) and is in collaboration with Actiris’ Diversity Service.
Mingyan Tong
PhD Student, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles Mingyan Tong is a PhD student whose research explores leadership and identity through the lens of social psychology.
Her work focuses on how stigmatized social identities—such as racial identity—interact with group dynamics and workplace identities, particularly leader identity, within organizational settings. Drawing on social identity theory and implicit leadership theories (ILTs), she examines how individuals’ social group memberships influence their leadership emergence and evaluations and how leadership perceptions are shaped by the interaction between stigmatized social identities and ideal leader prototypes.
Her current research investigates how racial minorities navigate bias and stereotype-driven barriers in leadership selection. She studies how activating certain identities can influence evaluations of minority candidates and the strategies they may use to manage these dynamics. By examining these dynamics, Mingyan’s research sheds light on the complex interplay between individual identity management and group-level outcomes in diverse organizations.
Delia Mensitieri
Delia is an academic expert on workplace inclusion. She is also a business consultant on organisational culture, leadership and strategy. She teaches at several universities, including Vlerick Business School, Solvay School of Economics and Audencia Business School. Delia hood research at European Women on Boards and is particularly passionate about bridging the gap between science and practice….
Postdocs Team
Valérie De Cock
Valerie De Cock studied Work and Organizational Psychology at KU Leuven (KUL, Bachelor) and at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Master) in Belgium. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Management from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (ULB) with a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Management.
Her research centers on organizational decoupling in DEI and explores its antecedents and its impact on workers. During her Ph.D Valerie developed a strong interest for applied research and connecting research with practice. She also discovered her drive for teaching and for social sustainability. Currently, Valerie combines her role as researcher with a position at the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) where she expands her knowledge of social sustainability beyond worker well-being. She also serves as Board Member for The Shift, the Belgian sustainability network.
Office at Université Libre de Bruxelles
Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management
Av. F.D Roosevelt 50 – 1050 Brussels, Belgium, R42.4.206
Phone: +32 (0) 2 650 38 35
Mail: Claudia.Toma@ULB.be
