Women in business chair

Sciences Po launched the Women in Business Chair in 2018. This new program aims to develop and scientifically evaluate measures to reduce the barriers women face in their career trajectories, in terms of access to leadership positions and of starting new business ventures.

Providing scientific knowledge

The chair aims to provide scientific knowledge that can benefit different groups: students who may be discouraged from entrepreneurship or who are about to enter the labour market, women who are in the process of developing their careers, business leaders seeking guidance on effective measures to implement, and public authorities wanting to raise awareness on best practices. It will focus on the skills that are necessary to develop successful careers in a rapidly changing labour market, so that more women can gain access to senior positions. It will also focus on gaining a more in depth understanding of the mechanisms through which implicit discrimination continues to hinder women’s professional careers.

A threefold process

The chair will develop activities in three areas

Research

Studies in economics, sociology and social psychology focused on developing measures to reduce the obstacles that discourage women from starting a business or, more broadly, from reaching senior management positions.

Teaching

Using the research findings to create new courses and specific workshops that help women develop essential career skills for a changing labour market.

Knowledge dissemination

Informing society about effective measures to foster women’s entrepreneurship and leadership in business.

Priorities

The first research priorities of the chair will be to review the existing academic knowledge and the available data on women in business; to study gender differences in speaking-up in public skills; and to study the efficiency of business networks and mentoring programs for women.
The chair will draw on the unique evaluation expertise developed at Sciences Po’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (FR) and the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP). It also builds on gender equality research conducted at Sciences Po, particularly through PRESAGE.

Contact: anne.boring@sciencespo.fr.

Founding sponsors : Goldman Sachs, CHANEL Foundation, AXA Research Fund & the PepsiCo Foundation.