The Women and Public Policy Program’s faculty, research fellows, and students are committed to advancing women and gender equity globally. Through rigorous research, we offer gender insights into work, politics, and conflict that have the potential to reduce or eliminate barriers so all people can fulfill their life aspirations unconstrained by gender bias.
Spotlight
New Faculty Research on Self-Ratings and Bias in Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are supposed to reward merit. In practice, they're often subjective and can be swayed by an employee’s demographic characteristics and by design choices in the review process. New research by WAPPP co-director Iris Bohnet finds that, compared to other demographic groups, women of color–who tend to give themselves the lowest self-ratings–receive higher performance ratings when their self-evaluations are not shared with their managers.
Our speaker series explores the relationship between work and family and how institutions, policies, and social norms shape our ability to thrive in both. From caregiving to parental leave to workplace flexibility, the seminars feature research on systems that support—or hinder—work and family life.
WAPPP fellow Lise Vesterlund, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh, focuses much of her research on gendered work assignments as a driver of gaps in promotion and compensation. In this Q&A, she shares insights on the gendered nature of "non-promotable" tasks.
A new piece for Harvard Business Review, co-authored by WAPPP research fellow Siri Chilazi and co-director Iris Bohnet, explores a method of training hiring managers that—unlike most diversity training—leads to broader and more diverse hiring outcomes.
Research & Programs
The WAGE research initiative focuses on data-driven strategies organizations can use to "debias" their systems and create more inclusive workplaces, as well as interventions that enhance individuals’ agency in negotiating more gender-equitable work arrangements, including paid and unpaid labor.
The Gender and Politics initiative aims to advance research on representative democracy and equitable participation in governments across the globe. Our "Oval Office" training program inspires and supports nontraditional candidates to run for public office.
The Gender and Conflict initiative unites faculty, students, and researchers at Harvard Kennedy School and beyond to study gender in non-violent and violent social movements and the social and institutional factors influencing the prevalence of gender-based violence.
GAP is an online collection of research evaluating the impact of specific policies, strategies, and organizational practices to advance gender equity.
The fellowship's mission is to support and advance academic and practitioner-scholars in their gender-related research.
Explore all the programs, projects, and initiatives at the Women and Public Policy Program.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LAND AND PEOPLE
The Women and Public Policy Program and the Harvard Kennedy School are located on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary unceded homeland of the Massachusett people, the surviving descendants of the first people of Massachusetts and of the Neponset band of the Massachusett. We honor this tradition and work toward a gender equity agenda that addresses the needs of all women, including Indigenous women and Indigenous communities. For more information, please visit our GAP Land Acknowledgementresource page.