Social Justice in Your Name?!

Abstract Social justice is a cornerstone of a fair society, impacting critical areas like human rights and economic growth. While disparities related to factors such as race and socioeconomic status are well-documented, a less explored issue is "alphabetical discrimination." This phenomenon involves ordering and potentially judging individuals based on the alphabetical sequence of their last names. In this study, we show that such a form of discrimination might influence significant life choices, particularly the selection of college majors. Leveraging datasets from two major universities in US and China, our results indicate that US students with earlier last name initials are significantly more likely to opt for liberal arts over STEM subjects. This tendency may be linked to variations in personality development stemming from their experiences with alphabetical order practices during their K-12 education. Notably, this trend is absent among international students from countries where alphabetical name order is not prevalent. These findings offer new insights into how one’s name can shape educational decisions and trajectories. Our findings provide implications for crafting policies that address such inadvertent biases, ensuring that all students, regardless of their last names, have equal opportunities and visibility.