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

Women’s Leadership in Context: Gender, Power, and Identity Dynamics

Women’s leadership is thriving in many domains and challenged in others. WAPPP’s Fall 2024 Speaker Series will give participants an opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research on contextual factors that influence women’s leadership advancement, including organizational structures and practices, power dynamics, and intersectional identities. Learn more and register for the virtual series here.

 

This year, we have seven new research fellows enriching the intellectual life of our center with work on key gender issues. We are also pleased to welcome our new senior fellow, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and to welcome back Senior Fellow Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

 

Our Gender Action Portal, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, aggregates and translates research on gender. This story and accompanying video explore how GAP has become an invaluable tool for policymakers, researchers, and others over the last decade.

 

The latest HKS PolicyCast episode features WAPPP co-director Hannah Riley Bowles on shifting attitudes toward women leaders, sharing her research on the topic and discussing current, real-world 'path breakers' like Vice President Kamala Harris and others.

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.

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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 Acknowledgement resource page.