Ninochka McTaggart, Ph.D.

Senior Researcher,
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Dr. Ninochka McTaggart is a Senior Researcher at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and has been at the institute since 2016. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Riverside and a B.A. in International Relations and Sociology from the University of Southern California. She is a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist with comprehensive expertise on issues of race, gender, inequality, and popular culture. Her research interests include examining qualitative representations and stereotyping in mass media and popular culture. She is a published author, curator, public speaker, educator and consultant.  

She served as guest curator of the exhibit, “Don’t Believe the Hype”: L.A. Asian Americans in Hip Hop” at the Chinese American Museum in 2018. Her research has been featured on KPCC, KCET, CGTN America and in L.A. Weekly. She has published in Sociological Inquiry and contributed to Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia and The Oxford Encyclopedia of Asian American Literature and Culture.  She recently wrote a book with Dr. Eileen O’Brien entitled White Privilege: The Persistence of Racial Hierarchy in a Culture of Denial. The book focuses on how race intersects with other systems of power in order to maintain white privilege in American social institutions. She has served as a consultant for various organizations to create and implement strategies and initiatives that promote awareness and understanding of issues of inequity. She is driven by her strong commitment to advocating for the equitable treatment of all marginalized groups.

IF SHE CAN SEE IT, SHE CAN BE IT®