Iris Bohnet is a behavioral economist and the academic dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School. She combines insights from economics and psychology to improve decision-making in organizations and society. Her most recent research examines how behavioral design can be used to de-bias how we live, learn and work. She is co-director of the Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and the faculty chair of the “Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century” for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders.
In a field overflowing with opinions and ‘gut feelings,’ What Works
is a shining ray of truth and insight. Bohnet lays out the science
behind what really drives—and prevents—gender inequality, and
translates it into clear, easy-to-implement steps for achieving
equality. A much needed book with precise, effective prescriptions
for any environment.
*Laszlo Bock, SVP of People Operations at Google and author of
Work Rules!*
Compelling, lucid, and filled with actionable insights, What Works
draws from a deep well of research to explain how we can end gender
inequality.
*Adam Grant, author of Give and Take and
Originals*
Pathbreaking work, and packed with insights on every page. Bohnet
has produced, at once, the best book ever written on behavioral
science and discrimination, and a major contribution to
behaviorally informed policymaking as a whole. Her book promises to
change both private and public institutions—and to improve
individual lives.
*Cass Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard
University and coauthor of Nudge: Improving Decisions about
Health, Wealth, and Happiness*
Drawing on a deep well of research and expertise, Iris Bohnet’s new
book gives companies a practical and invaluable toolkit for
designing a gender-equal culture. Her business case for action is
so compelling that it should be required reading for every
corporate leader.
*Frédéric Rozé, President and CEO, L’Oréal USA*
Bohnet assembles an impressive assortment of studies that
demonstrate how organizations can achieve gender equity in
practice…What Works is stuffed with good ideas, many equally simple
to implement…In this era of the TEDification of every promising
idea, Bohnet is refreshingly careful. She never overgeneralizes;
she cautions about extrapolating from one group to another; and she
acknowledges ignorance where data are lacking…The glory of this
book is that Bohnet not only offers dozens of practical examples of
how behavioral findings can be put to use but also demonstrates
that moving toward equity need not be a zero-sum game in which as
women gain, men lose…She makes trying out the new steps seem like
an exhilarating project rather than an impossible one.
*Wall Street Journal*
Right up to board level, companies should find in What Works not
only food for thought [about gender bias], but a guide for
effective practical action as well.
*Financial Times*
What Works delivers! I have long been inspired by Iris Bohnet’s
impressive research on gender bias. In this book, she has distilled
years of work into practical approaches that any
organization—business, education or government—can adapt to start
changing the environments in which we all live, learn, and work.
This is a must-read for everyone who actually wants to do something
to address the stubborn and costly issue of gender inequality.
*Beth A. Brooke-Marciniak, Global Vice Chair of Public Policy,
Ernst & Young Global Limited*
A game changer. In this brilliant and practical book, Bohnet
explains how behavioral insights can collapse gender inequality in
our lifetime. It’s terrific.
*Linda Babcock, James M. Walton Professor of Economics at Carnegie
Mellon University and coauthor of Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation
and the Gender Divide*
A refreshingly clear, meticulously researched manual for
eliminating gender inequality in the workplace.
*The Guardian*
Thoroughly evidence-based and intensely practical. This book will
provide employers with ways to think about what changes they can
and should be making to address unintentional discrimination in the
workplace, and how such changes would benefit everyone.
*Prospect*
Provides a useful introduction to all the available evidence
showing there is a business, as well as moral, case for diversity.
What Works speaks to CEOs in a language they will understand,
taking the emotion out of the argument and making a pragmatic case
for reshaping workplace norms to make women feel less
alienated.
*New Statesman*
A practical guide for any employer seeking to offset the
unconscious bias holding back
women in organizations, from orchestras to internet companies.
*Financial Times*
Despite so many improvements, gender equality in the workplace (let
alone in other parts of life) often seems like a chimera: something
that exists only in imagination and is not possible in
reality…Bohnet presents the science; we no longer have to think
that it is all in our imagination. Read the book. Act on it. Make
gender equality a reality.
*Business Record*
This book is easy to follow with helpful summaries and an inspiring
finish. I would highly recommend that anyone who manages people
gives it a go. It is stuffed with experiments and data drawn from
all over the world…This is a must-have guide for anyone in charge
of a diversity budget.
*Management Today*
What Works is a call to action. It demonstrates with real-life
examples, such as the introduction of blind auditions into the
world of symphony orchestras, how the seemingly intractable problem
of gender inequality can be not only addressed but solved. This
book is a gift.
*Deborah Borda, President and CEO, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and
Hollywood Bowl Association*
If you really want equality, here is a guide to action. No more
excuses; we know how to design. Bohnet is brilliant and practical,
and she documents what works. Everyone who read Thinking, Fast and
Slow and Nudge and cares about equality will want to consume this
masterpiece.
*Max Bazerman, Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business
Administration at Harvard Business School*
If you think you have no gender bias, you should read this book. It
will surprise you. Bohnet uses hard evidence to show that
complacency about gender equality is dangerous because bias in the
workplace remains widespread, entrenched and destructive. Sometimes
depressing, always compelling, this work makes it clear how much
work has yet to be done.
*Times Higher Education*
Iris Bohnet has not only managed to successfully explain how gender
bias exists in all of us, she then goes on to provide
straightforward, practical suggestions to overcome the suboptimal
status quo. A groundbreaking book with solutions that every
institution and corporation should implement in their quest for
high performance.
*Carol Schwartz, Founding Chair, Women’s Leadership Institute
Australia*
Iris Bohnet’s groundbreaking work will revolutionize the way
governments and corporations approach gender equality in the
workplace. Extraordinary.
*Mirjam Staub-Bisang, CEO, Independent Capital Group, and author of
Sustainable Investing for Institutional Investors*
What Works is an out-of-the-box read. Full of facts, data and
real-life evidence, it is a must read for those who want doable
actions to ensure gender equality.
*Governance Now*
Bohnet elegantly and expansively demonstrates how [subconscious]
biases can be obstacles to gender equality. What sets her approach
apart in an increasingly crowded field of gender-equality
literature is her use of behavioral design to offer practical—and
often intuitive—solutions…She leads through demonstration and
design, leaving readers better equipped to find solutions that
work, so we can each contribute to making a difference.
*Finance and Development*
If you want to solve gender inequality, read What Works. Then
follow the compelling, insightful suggestions Iris Bohnet provides.
This is a book you will return to again and again, for this is a
book that changes everything.
*Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Credit Suisse*
Bohnet is the world’s leading expert at the intersection of
behavioral science and gender equality. Her work moves effortlessly
between laboratory studies and real world examples, and spells out
the practical implications. Achieve equity; enhance profit; and
beat your rivals—and be gripped along the way.
*David Halpern, author of Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small
Changes Can Make a Big Difference*
True to its title, Iris Bohnet’s timely book marshals evidence from
proven research to designing interventions that actually work. A
must-read for anyone trying to move the needle on gender
diversity.
*Herminia Ibarra, Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and
Learning, INSEAD*
Professor Bohnet has written a pathbreaking book documenting how
unconscious biases and stereotypes are pervasive barriers to gender
equality. The book combines brilliant insights from behavioral
research with practical recommendations about how to design
policies and organizations to counter these biases and accelerate
progress toward gender parity. The moral case for gender parity is
indisputable; the business case is compelling. Now Professor Bohnet
has written a how-to manual, based on rigorous research, about how
to achieve this goal.
*Laura D. Tyson, Professor of Business Administration and Economics
at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of
Business*
What Works is a brilliant breakthrough guide to closing the gender
gap. Iris Bohnet connects research-based insights from many nations
that are tackling this vital issue to show how biased minds can be
nudged to make unbiased choices, and how small changes can have big
impact. Her book provides essential leadership lessons for
designing a more equitable and more productive world.
*Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business
Administration at Harvard Business School and best-selling author
of Men and Women of the Corporation, Confidence, and
MOVE*
What Works is one of those rare books that will cause me to act
differently. Confronting me with common situations and arming me
with practical recommendations, Iris Bohnet challenged my ingrained
beliefs and behavior. Brava!
*Severin Schwan, CEO, Roche Group*
Fresh, scholarly, and illuminating. Iris Bohnet brings a new lens
to gender discussion that will spark much-needed debate.
*Tina Brown*
What Works is a fascinating and absorbing book, presenting dozens
of research projects, case studies, and theories that address a
wide range of gender equality problems…It offers thought-provoking
(and empirically-researched) challenges to many of the mainstream
notions and ideas that turn out to be rooted in bias, stereotypes,
and other ‘mind bugs that affect our judgment.’
*PopMatters*
To blindly assume that sexism is a thing of the past is to fly in
the face of the wealth of modern-day experimental evidence
presented in this fascinating book… From the boardroom to the
classroom, this book outlines a set of tools that we need to design
organizations in a way that sets us free from unconscious gender
bias… Bohnet’s book is a call to action—and it is one that
organizations cannot afford to ignore.
*Times Higher Education*
What Works serves both as a clear indication of where we currently
stand and a guide as to how, institution by institution, we can
nudge ourselves towards greater gender equality.
*LSE Review of Books*
A handy manual about promoting gender in the workplace, which is up
front about what works, and what doesn’t.
*Management Today*
This is a persuasive manual for anyone seeking to eliminate
unconscious biases—in recruitment and management—that perpetuate
imbalances between men and women. Bohnet offers invaluable,
research-based guidance about how to design and run organizations
that are not only fairer, but better.
*Financial Times*
This in-depth exploration of gender bias offers practical examples
of what you can do to ensure your business hires and retains the
best talent.
*HR Magazine*
[Bohnet’s] straightforward tools for designing inclusive and
diverse workplaces and institutions are a boon to anyone who hopes
to study, work, and live in an atmosphere of openness and
civility.
*Stanford Social Innovation Review*
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