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.

Climate, Debt, and Reproductive Health in India’s Sugarcane Belt

HKS Professor Eliana La Ferrara and PhD student Aditi Bhowmick are researching the compounding harmful impacts of climate change, gender norms, and financial debt on the health of women who work cutting sugarcane in a drought-prone region of India. They discuss their research project, co-sponsored by WAPPP and the Mittal Institute, in this Q&A with the Mittal Institute. 

 
In a chapter of the newly-published book Gender and Leadership, WAPPP Co-Director Hannah Riley Bowles and research fellow Shan Sherwan Hussein examine when and why gender matters in career negotiations and offer a framework to mitigate bias and improve outcomes. 
 

A new report co-authored by WAPPP fellow Katharine Wright marks 25 years since the UN established the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, offering actionable strategies for policymakers, practitioners, and other WPS advocates to redouble enforcement efforts amid backlash.

 

What started as a class project for WAPPP alum Ira Guha MPP 2019 turned into patenting an easy-to-use menstrual cup and founding Asan, a social enterprise aiming to help end 'period poverty' by getting the cup to underserved women around the world.

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.