Women and Public Policy Program Seminar Series

The Biases that Blind Us: How Gender Stereotypes Constrain Opportunities for Women in STEM with Corinne Moss-Racusin

What is the impact of gender biases on promotion and advancement in the scientific community? Dr. Corinne Moss-Racusin shares her latest research exploring the impact of gender biases on meritocracy, diversity, and the pursuit of knowledge throughout academic science. She discusses educational strategies designed to increase awareness and reduce bias, and provides examples of effective scientific diversity interventions. SPEAKER: Corinne Moss-Racusin, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Skidmore College

Reserving Time for Daddy: The Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Fathers' Quotas with Ankita Patnaik

Paternity leave, men's role in childcare, and their work-life balance have become more commonly discussed topics by policymakers and business leaders. What kinds of policies succeed in getting fathers involved in their children's lives from the beginning? What are the long-term consequences for families, in terms of fathers' and mothers' careers, incomes, and the division of household labor at home? In this seminar, Ankita Patnaik discusses how parental leave schemes can be designed to induce fathers to participate and whether small changes in the initial parenting experience can have lasting effects on both parents' behavior. She presents findings from a study that shows that even a few weeks of paternity leave can have a large and persistent impact on sex specialization in the long-term by encouraging a more equal distribution of household responsibilities. Speaker: Ankita Patnaik, Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research

What Works: Gender Equality, By Design

With gender equality increasingly a business imperative, in addition to being a human right, many leaders across the sectors wonder how we can get there. In the first WAPPP Seminar of 2015-16, Professor Bohnet discusses her forthcoming book "What Works: Gender Equality, By Design" (Harvard University Press 2016). Reviewing the impact of what we have been doing to date, including diversity and leadership trainings, networking, and mentorship/sponsorship programs, Bohnet proposes a new approach to leveling the playing field. Building on insights from Behavioral Economics, she argues that to overcome gender bias in organizations and society, we should focus on de-biasing systems—how we evaluate performance, hire, promote, structure tests, form groups—rather than on trying to de-bias people. Speaker: Iris Bohnet, Professor of Public Policy; Director, Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School

The Hillary Doctrine: How Sex Came to Matter in American Foreign Policy with Valerie Hudson

Now that Hillary Clinton is out of government—for the time being at least—this is an opportune time to reflect on the origins and development of the Hillary Doctrine, the challenges and controversy it engendered while she was Secretary of State, and how the Doctrine has affected both the United States and other nations. Is the Hillary Doctrine truly in the American national interest, and furthermore, is it in the interests of countries troubled by war and instability? With the end of her tenure, will U.S. foreign policy continue to focus on women and girls and to what extent does it match the reality of U.S. government policy and programming? In this discussion, we will discuss whether the Hillary Clinton Doctrine will indeed bring about a more stable future for the nations of the world. Speaker: Valerie Hudson, Professor and George H.W. Bush Chair, Texas A&M University

It Takes a Family and a Country: Cross-National Effects of Non-Traditional Gender Role Models on Gender Inequalities at Work and Home with Kathleen McGinn

How does exposure during childhood to non-traditional gender role models—working mothers and female parliamentarians—shape men’s and women’s outcomes at work and at home? Across 25 countries, women, but not men, exposed to non-traditional gender role models during childhood are more likely to be employed, more likely to hold supervisory responsibility if employed, and earn higher wages than women whose mothers were home full time. At home, exposure to non-traditional models increases the time men contribute to housework and caring for family members and decreases the time women spend on housework. This research exposes the power of non-traditional gender role models within families and countries as critical factors for reducing gender inequality in labor markets and households around the globe. SPEAKER: Kathleen L. McGinn, Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration; Chair, Doctoral Program, Harvard Business School

What Women Want with Deborah Rhode

Why is it that women still fare worse than men on virtually every major dimension of social status, financial well-being, and physical safety? Sexual violence remains common, and reproductive rights are by no means secure. Women also assume disproportionate burdens in the home and pay a price in the world outside it. Deborah Rhode, professor of law at Stanford University, reviews why these issues are not cultural priorities and what can be done to change this. Speaker: Deborah Rhode, Professor of Law, Stanford University

Competing At All Costs: Dysfunctional Competition and Gender with Pinar Fletcher

Costly sabotage occurs when individuals risk incurring losses in order to hurt their competitors. When are individuals more likely to engage in such dysfunctionally competitive behavior? Are there any gender differences in propensity to engage in costly sabotage? Pinar Fletcher studies these questions in three laboratory experiments.

Women's Career Negotiations with Hannah Riley Bowles

Hannah Riley Bowles will review some of the latest research on how gender influences career-related negotiations and discuss practical implications. Participants will receive a workbook with questions to help them prepare for career-related negotiations.

All-Female Contingents on the Front Lines of Peace and Conflict with Margaret Jenkins

Since 2010, an all-female peacekeeping contingent has been monitoring a fragile ceasefire between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the southern Philippines. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the peacekeepers, WAPPP Fellow Margaret Jenkins explains how this all-female unit responds to myriad sources of violence, and navigates conservative gender norms. Do these women feel they have been taken seriously by Islamist rebels and Filipino soldiers? What have been their main challenges and successes on the ground? This case is one of several that Jenkins is studying as part of a two-year research project funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada on the effectiveness and experience of all-female contingents working in conflict zones. Speaker: Margaret Jenkins, Research Associate on Peacekeeping, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security, Georgetown University; Postdoctoral Fellow, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada; WAPPP Fellow

From Sexual Harassment to Selective Mistreatment: The Regulation of Gender at Work with Jennifer L. Berdahl

Debate abounds about why women continue to be underrepresented in top management positions and in male-dominated domains. This presentation reviews research on an often subtle, but powerful and pervasive, organizational force that discourages men and women from engaging in non-stereotypical roles and behavior: The harassment and mistreatment of gender incongruent employees. The author’s research on this topic is reviewed, from “not man enough” harassment, to the sexual harassment of “uppity” women, to the general mistreatment of non-traditional parents. The presentation concludes with recent studies that distinguish mistreatment from advancement and shed light on the “double bind” for women and the systematic scope of gender regulation in the workplace. SPEAKER: Jennifer L. Berdahl, Montalbano Professor of Leadership Studies: Gender and Diversity, University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business