Project

In 2018, Sciences Po launched the Women in Business Chair. Its goal is to develop and scientifically evaluate measures designed to reduce the barriers that women face in their professional careers, whether in terms of access to leadership positions or of starting new business ventures. The chair’s activities are aimed at female students who may be discouraged from becoming entrepreneurs or reaching leadership positions, business leaders seeking guidance on effective measures to implement, and public authorities wanting to raise awareness of best practices.

The chair’s activities aim to develop the skills that are increasingly necessary for careers in a rapidly changing labour market, so that more women can gain access to leadership positions.

The chair will develop activities in three areas, in collaboration with Sciences Po’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (FR), the LIEPP, and PRESAGE:

• Research: developing research studies on the implementation of measures designed to reduce the obstacles that discourage women from starting a business or, more broadly, from reaching senior management positions.
• Teaching: concretely implement the research findings, in order to create new courses and workshops that help women develop essential career skills in a changing labour market 
• Knowledge dissemination: informing a wider society about effective measures to foster women’s entrepreneurship and leadership.

"After several years of research on gender and gender stereotypes, this chair will allow us to take the analysis of possible measures further so that we can propose truly effective solutions for promoting women’s leadership", explained Anne Boring, head of the chair and LIEPP affiliated.

BUILDING ON THE EXPERTISE OF THE CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, LIEPP AND PRESAGE AND INFORMING UNIVERSITIES, BUSINESS AND PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

The chair is attached to Sciences Po’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (FR). Through innovative research, it aims to contribute to the Centre’s courses and the development of its incubated startups.

The chair will draw on the unique evaluation expertise developed at Sciences Po’s Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP).  The Chair’s research will be part of the LIEPP’s Discriminations and Category-Based Policies research group, which aims to contribute to public debate by assessing the extent and evolution of discrimination in France, and analysing the public policy challenges of reducing inequalities.

The Chair’s research program also builds on gender equality research conducted at Sciences Po, particularly through PRESAGE, an academic and research program on gender-related issues.