The Women and Public Policy Program works toward gender-equity solutions by convening leaders within and beyond Harvard Kennedy School; advancing knowledge through faculty and fellow research; impacting practice by sharing expertise broadly and making research more accessible; and empowering students to become influential decision-makers around the world.
With all areas of our work, we hope to capture the impact we are having in the world. Below, find stories produced by WAPPP and HKS on the impact of our center.
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 low-income women around the world. Today, Asan has distributed the cups to 150,000 underserved women and counting.
2024 STUDENT FIELD INTERNSHIP REFLECTIONS
MORE STORIES OF IMPACT
The Cultural Bridge Fellowship was created in 2005 with a specific vision – students applied to spend their summer working on a policy issue related to gender, in a country they’d never lived in before. Twenty years and more than 200 fellowships later, alumnae say they continue to feel the impact of the Cultural Bridge program in their work today.
Looking for evidence-based solutions to advance gender equity? There’s a GAP for that
Our Gender Action Portal, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, aggregates and translates research on gender. With over 300 studies freely available, GAP is regularly used to inform the work of researchers, policymakers, journalists, and DEI practitioners. This story and accompanying video explore how GAP has become an invaluable tool for more than one million users over the last decade.
Preparing Students for the Oval Office
Three 2024 graduates of WAPPP's From Harvard Square to the Oval Office program shared their experiences in the political training program, and their aspirations for running for office using the skills they built, with HKS Student Stories.