Publications

July 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Valentina Tereshkova: Conquering Space

By: Boris Groysberg and Annelena Lobb

On June 13, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova of the USSR became the first woman to fly in space on Vostok 6. Soviet leaders publicly espoused gender equity, but also sent Tereshkova on her mission in order to be the first country to send a woman to space, a milestone they... View Details

Keywords: Gender Equity; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Personal Development and Career; Aerospace Industry; Soviet Union; United States

July 2024
Article

Whether to Apply

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Manuela Collis and Leena Kulkarni

Labor market outcomes depend, in part, upon an individual’s willingness to put herself forward for different opportunities. We use a series of experiments to explore gender differences in willingness to apply for higher return, more challenging work. We find that, in... View Details

Keywords: Beliefs; Recruitment; Job Search; Gender; Attitudes

20 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018

Harvard Business Review Beating the Odds: Leadership Lessons from Senior African-American Women By: Roberts, Laura Morgan, Anthony Mayo, Robin Ely, and David Thomas Abstract—Any list of top CEOs reveals a stunning lack of diversity. Among... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Sep 2001
Lessons from the Classroom

Getting Back on Course

When Harvard Business School dean Kim B. Clark returned from a road tour a couple of years ago, he had some important issues he wanted to discuss with Professor Myra M. Hart. Evidence—granted, most of it anecdotal—was mounting to show that a substantial number of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

21 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

HBS Research Focuses on Gender Issues and Fixes

In 1963, the first women were admitted to Harvard Business School's two-year MBA program. The 50th anniversary is being celebrated this year at HBS with new faculty research, case studies, and a series of on-campus events and programs... View Details

April 2005 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Ilene Lang and the Catalyst Search (A)

By: Myra M. Hart and Laura L. Nash

Catalyst, the nonprofit organization dedicated to championing women in professional ranks, is searching for a new president--only the third in its 42-year history. Ilene Lang, a corporate executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in high-tech... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Work-Life Balance; Job Search; Gender; Service Industry

December 2022
Article

Different Roots, Different Fruits: Gender-Based Differences in Cultural Narratives about Perceived Discrimination Produce Divergent Psychological Consequences

By: Leigh Plunkett Tost, Ashley E. Hardin and Francesca Gino

We examine whether narratives about, and the psychological consequences of, perceived gender discrimination differ between women and men. We argue that women and men have different dominant narratives about the reasons why people discriminate against people of their... View Details

Keywords: Gender Discrimination; Organizations; Prejudice and Bias; Gender; Perception

September 2022
Case

Proactive for Her

By: Rembrand Koning and Kairavi Dey

Proactive for Her began amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in August 2020 as a digital platform to provide accessible, evidence-based, primary, preventive non-judgmental healthcare services for Indian women, who were often dissuaded from seeking help as premarital sex and... View Details

Keywords: Women's Health; Healthcare; India; Start-up; Telehealth; Digital Platforms; Health Care and Treatment; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Startups; Health Industry; Asia; South Asia; India

02 Dec 2015
What Do You Think?

What Will It Take to Achieve Gender Equality in Leadership?

Their comments concentrated on ways of getting women into positions with the power to hire and promote. Seena Sharp suggested that “Gender equality will be achieved when both women AND men participate in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Zambian Schoolgirls Receive Negotiation Training

Many Zambian girls face major challenges early in life. They drop out of eighth and ninth grade at three times the rate of their male counterparts and contract HIV twice as often. Many will die due to complications associated with childbirth. From her work with View Details

Keywords: Re: Kathleen L. McGinn

Article

Household Bargaining and Excess Fertility: An Experimental Study in Zambia

By: Nava Ashraf, Erica Field and Jean Lee

We posit that household decision-making over fertility is characterized by moral hazard due to the fact that most contraception can only be perfectly observed by the woman. Using an experiment in Zambia that varied whether women were given access to contraceptives... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Health; Household; Gender; Zambia

Read Now

January 1989
Supplement

Suzanne de Passe at Motown Productions, Video

By: Linda A. Hill

Updates events in the case and draws a tighter focus on managing a start-up and women in leadership. View Details

Keywords: Management; Leadership; Gender; Business Startups

13 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

Cash and the Woman-Owned Business

Building sufficient cash reserves to launch a business and managing subsequent fundraising are challenges for every entrepreneur, but they are particularly daunting tasks for women. Women often come up short of cash at start-up and, when... View Details

Keywords: by Candida Brush, Nancy M. Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia G. Greene & Myra M. Hart

21 Nov 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Path-Breakers: How Does Women’s Political Participation Respond to Electoral Success?

Keywords: by Sonia Bhalotra, Irma Clots-Figueras & Lakshmi Iyer

Research Summary

Political Economy of Business Development

In an ongoing research stream, Professor Fabbe is studying the political economy of business development in fragile societies. Her newest project in this research stream explores the opportunities for complementarities and joint ventures between Syrian and Turkish... View Details

November 2019
Case

Chief: Role for Carolyn Childers

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Katherine Chen and Julia Kelley

In 2018, Carolyn Childers is preparing to launch Chief, a New York-based peer network for women executives, and must decide whether to bring on a co-founder. After becoming the senior vice president of operations at her previous company, Childers was inspired to build... View Details

Keywords: Networking; Founders; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Negotiation

February 1990 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Quantum Semiconductor, Inc.

By: Janice H. Hammond and Roy D. Shapiro

Quantum is faced with a difficult ethical dilemma--industry studies provide evidence that chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing may cause women working in fabrication cleanrooms to suffer a higher likelihood of spontaneous abortions. The possibility of other... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Prejudice and Bias; Law; Equality and Inequality; Cost; Production; Ethics; Health; Gender; Semiconductor Industry