Critical Mass: What Happens When Women Start to Rule the World – led by Jay Newton-Small

Sophie Bierly

In sociology, political science and economics studies abound on when the presence of women begins to have an impact. Almost across the board, if there’s less than 20% representation outcomes don’t change. Either the women don’t speak up or the men don’t hear them. But somewhere between 20% and 30% and something called critical mass is attained and suddenly women’s voices are heard. Whether it’s on a Navy ship, in the Senate or on a corporate board, groups function better with diversity. Mixed workforces that have reached critical mass have shown a host of positive outcomes: police shoot and engage in violence less, companies have to restate their earnings less and banks take less risk. Women make up 46% of the workforce, but more than two-thirds of those on minimum wage are women. But, increasingly, women are breaking into management level roles, especially in government jobs. The public sector has leapt frogged ahead of the private sector in recent years and all three branches of the government are approaching critical mass at the same time. In this study group, I’ll examine how women govern, manage, command and lead differently than men and what it means for our future workforce.

Gender Equity in the News Media: Analysis and Recommendations for Newsroom Leaders

Sophie Bierly

This paper analyzes the state of gender equity in the American news media industry today. Sadly, many of the challenges we will describe are not new. In fact, the disservice done to society by the exclusion of women from the reporting of news was raised as early as the 18th century by women suffragists and women’s rights activists in North America as well as Europe. Women first brought a gendered analysis of the mass media to the global stage in the 1970s, when a multipart critique was presented at the 1975World Conference on Women in Mexico City, which opened the UN Decade for Women. Conference speakers stressed the importance of the global mass communications media to “change stereotyped attitudes of men and women” and “eliminate discrimination against women,” and the published report exhorted the mass communication media to “inform the population about new roles for women and their struggle for equity with men” (United Nations, 1975).

Modernizing U.S. Labor Standards for 21st-Century Families

Sophie Bierly

Women now make up almost half the U.S. workforce. Despite the central role women play in the U.S. economy, our labor laws
and institutions do little to address the various ways in which women are held back at work. This not only hampers women’s
economic well-being, but also has implications for U.S. productivity, labor force participation, and economic growth. In this
paper, we propose policies aimed at boosting women’s economic outcomes: paid family leave, fair scheduling, and combatting
wage discrimination. We show how enacting carefully designed policies in these categories will better address the challenges of
today’s labor force, enhance women’s economic outcomes, and provide benefits for the national economy.

Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women

Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women

Sophie Bierly

Though companies now invest heavily in mentoring and developing their best female talent, all that attention doesn’t translate into promotions. A Catalyst survey of over 4,000 high potentials shows that more women than men have mentors—yet women are paid $4,600 less in their first post-MBA jobs, hold lower-level positions, and feel less career satisfaction.

Sponsorship Maturity Curve

The Sponsor Dividend: Key Findings

Sophie Bierly

Through both hard data and in-depth interviews with sponsor/protégé pairs, this research showcases the vantage point of the sponsor—including common stumbling blocks and paths to success. The Sponsor Dividend also shows how employers can intentionally build sponsorship, from the initial stages, to becoming an embedded part of company culture.

Women's earnings compared to men's

The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap

Sophie Bierly

Over half a century after pay discrimination became illegal in the United States, a persistent pay gap between men and women continues to hurt our nation’s workers and our national economy. “On average, women in America are paid only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. At the current rate of progress, the pay gap will not close until 2093”.

Lean In Mothers

What Works for Women at Work

Sophie Bierly

Motherhood triggers assumptions that women are less competent and not as committed at
work. This “Maternal Wall” is one of the strongest biases women face, and even women without
children can be affected. This meeting will help you identify Maternal Wall bias and practice
tactics for interrupting it

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Sophie Bierly

Born in 1920 in Clover, Virginia, Henrietta Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors. In 1951, she developed a strangely aggressive cancer, and doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took a tissue sample without her knowledge. She died without knowing that her cells would become immortal—the first to grow and survive indefinitely in culture. HeLa cells, as they are called, were essential in developing the polio vaccine. They have aided in the development of in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping, and have helped us to better understand the workings of cancer and innumerable viruses. Even today, HeLa is the most widely used cell line in labs worldwide, bought and sold by the billions. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they would weigh more than fifty million metric tons—more than a hundred Empire State Buildings.

Three Woman Talking in a Office Meeting Room

FEMALE LABOR SUPPLY: WHY IS THE US FALLING BEHIND?

Hei-ock

In 1990, the US had the sixth highest female labor participation rate among 22 OECD countries. By
2010, its rank had fallen to 17th. We find that the expansion of “family-friendly” policies including
parental leave and part-time work entitlements in other OECD countries explains 28-29% of the decrease
in US women’s labor force participation relative to these other countries. However, these policies
also appear to encourage part-time work and employment in lower level positions: US women are
more likely than women in other countries to have full time jobs and to work as managers or professionals.