Iris Bohnet - What Works: Gender Equality by Design

WHAT WORKS

Gender Equality by Design

Iris Bohnet

THE BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England

2016

Copyright 2016 by Iris Bohnet

All rights reserved

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Harvard University Press was aware of a trademark claim, then the designations have been printed in initial capital letters.

Jacket illustration: Henil Modi / EyeEm / Getty Images

Jacket design: Tim Jones

978-0-674-08903-7 (alk. paper)

978-0-674-96859-2 (EPUB)

978-0-674-96858-5 (MOBI)

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Names: Bohnet, Iris, author.

Title: What works : gender equality by design / Iris Bohnet.

Description: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard

University Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015039199

Subjects: LCSH: Sex discrimination in employment. | Gender mainstreaming. | Organizational behavior.

Classification: LCC HD6060 .B64 2016 | DDC 331.4/133dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039199

To Michael, Dominik, and Luca

and

Ruth, Paul, and Brigitte

ILY

1. The violin behind the screen; a well-timed break matters; nudge by nudge; biases are everywhere; the business case for gender equality; for women, a matter of life and death; the importance of experimentation; overcoming gender bias by design
2. Why people like Howard more than Heidi; the competence-likability dilemma across cultures; the dangers of having a counterstereotypical job; survivor bias; statistical discrimination, or why women cannot get a good price on a used car; who lives in Florida?; the representativeness heuristic; how your brain forms first impressions; measuring your own biasesthe Implicit Association Test; a taste for discrimination
3. How to know when to settle and when to take a case to court; self-serving bias; its your bias, not mine; teaching about bias or suppressing it can backfire; halos and hindsight; when our better natures do not whisper in our ears; why diversity training programs might not work; moral licensing; taking advice from the crowd within; a radio soap opera changing norms in Rwanda; behaviorally inspired diversity training programs
4. The dilemma of an academic dean at Harvard; why women are less inclined to negotiate; why President Obama called on female reporters only; the social cost of asking, and how using we can help; why female politicians in Sweden and the United States speak less than their male counterparts; transparency is key; negotiating on behalf of others; what the Pill and dishwashers have in common; a nudge, not a shove
5. Evaluating leadership development programs; bridging the gender promotion gap through mentoring; how a business training program in India did not work for everyone; mentors or sponsorswhats the difference?; from leadership training to leadership capacity building; why representation matters; social networks can help you achieve your goals
6. How people analytics helped new mothers at Google; why female stockbrokers earned less and female professors at MIT had smaller labs than their male counterparts; using evaluation and certification tools to reveal gender gaps; the pitfalls of a meritocracy; signing a form before completing it increases honesty; how we can improve performance appraisals; a machine can make predictions better than you can, but you might not trust it
7. Pink is for tax bills; why Lakisha needs a longer resume than Emily; how comparative evaluation can overcome stereotypical judgments; seeking diversity over cultural fit; the beauty premium trap, halo effects, and confirmation bias; in praise of the structured interview; check your biases, frames, and anchors at the door; a smarter approach to hiring and evaluation
8. Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi for womenCoke Zero and Pepsi Max for men; looking for attractive women and experienced men in China; the economic concept of sorting; sending the right messages to attract community health workers in Zambia; what if every work arrangement was flexible until proven otherwise?; why more women apply to jobs when others do so as well; how long does stardom last?
9. De-biasing the SAT; women do not gamble on long odds when running for public office; who wants to be a millionaire?; testosterone and the winners effect; who else is in the room matters; stereotype threat and self-fulfilling prophecies on math tests; why the placement of that checkbox for demographic characteristics should move; counting to five in the classroom and other techniques to promote inclusion
10. Girls outperform boys in reading and writing in Nordic countries and boys outperform girls in math in Latin American countries; cost-effective aidwhen deworming helps more than scholarships; why formal self-appraisals should not be shared with managers; competition among the Maasai in Tanzania versus the Khasi in India; not everyone is a tennis star; how feedback can eliminate gender differences in competitiveness; the dictator game