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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
John F. Kennedy School of Government
MLD-324m: WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP
Fall 2011
Faculty: Professor Barbara Kellerman
Office Location: Taubman # 158
Phone: 617-495-7570
Email:
Office Hours: By appointment.
Faculty Assistant: Mike Leveriza
Office Location: Center for Public Leadership, Taubman #141G
Phone: 617-495-1386
E-mail:
Course Assistant: Courtney Walsh
E-mail:
Office Hours: By appointment.
Schedule of Classes: Tuesdays and Thursdays; 1:10 to 2:30 PM
Classroom: RG-20
Class Dates: Thursday, October 20 through Tuesday, December 6
Continued…
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide students who have a general interest in leadership with ideas, information, and insights that pertain to women and leadership in particular. It does not intend, directly, to train women to become leaders, or even, depending on the circumstance, to become better leaders than they already are. Rather it is based on the assumption that knowing about women and leadership - that understanding power, authority, and influence as they apply to women in particular - will impact on how wisely and well leadership is exercised, by women, and also by men.
The course is based on the following assumptions: that throughout history women have had less access to leadership roles than have men; that the reasons for this diminished access are numerous and complex; that as a simple matter of equity women should have greater access to leadership roles in the future than they have had in the past and, for that matter, than they do in the present; and, finally, that so far as leadership is concerned, women have challenges that uniquely are theirs.
Our collective conversation will be divided into three parts. To begin we will place the subject of women and leadership in historical context. Issues pertaining to women/leadership seem somehow singularly current – and in some ways they are. But at the same time they are embedded in a pertinent past, with which it is important to be at least somewhat familiar. The second part of the course will consider women in the different spheres within which power, authority, and influence are exercised. They include the different sectors (business, government, nonprofit, military), as well as different groups and organizations, and different cultures, nations, and other reference groups. While we cannot in six weeks do justice to the complexity of distal context, or of immediate circumstance, we can sensitize ourselves to the importance of situational awareness. Finally the course will be experiential. It will draw on your personal/professional experiences, as they reflect, sometimes obviously, sometimes less obviously, the difficulties of the past, the challenges of the present, and the opportunities for the future.
Two concluding notes: First, while most of the materials on women and leadership are based on and drawn from the American experience, the course will be multicultural in its orientation, explicitly welcoming to students from countries other than the United States. Whatever the differences among us, they are to be explored and, as appropriate, mined. Second, all students who enroll in this class should recall that our focus will be on women and leadership particularly, rather than on women generally. While all gender issues relate to all other gender issues, the limits of time require that we stay specific.
Course Requirements:
All students are asked to submit on Thursday, November 10 a four to six page paper (typed, double-spaced) that addresses a single question raised by the class readings and/or class discussions. A class handout on short papers will clarify the parameters of this assignment, and indicate in general (not specific) terms what a good short paper, for this class in particular, should look like.
All students are further asked to submit on the last day of class, Tuesday, December 6th a final paper that is eight to ten pages in length. This second paper will be a case study based on a single personal/professional experience, obviously as it relates to and reflects the themes of this course.
Continued . . .
A case study handout will be provided that indicates what should be included in and excluded from this particular case study and how, more generally, this case study should be approached.
Active participation in class discussions is further expected – at least in so far as the class size will allow. In general, “participation” refers to in-class oral contributions to the collective conversation. But the class page will also link to an online discussion board: it will enable students additionally to express themselves, engage with each other, and further share information and ideas.
Finally, several class sessions will be devoted to student responses to various questions/issues, and to presentations of case studies. The first will be scattered throughout the module; the second, case presentations, will be toward the end of our time together. All students are invited to present their cases to the class, though due to the limits of time, only a few will be able to do so. Decisions on who will be presenting and for how many minutes will be determined after the semester has started.
Course Readings:
· The Course Reading Packets can be purchased at the KSG Course Materials Office (Belfer, G-6).
· The following books are available for purchase at the Harvard COOP:
-- Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders (Harvard Business School Press, 2007). Recommended.
-- Barbara Kellerman and Deborah L. Rhode (eds.), Women and Leadership: The State of Play and Strategies for Change (Jossey-Bass, 2007). Recommended.
-- Estelle B. Freedman, ed., The Essential Feminist Reader (Modern Library, 2007). Paper, Optional.
-- Anna Marie Valerio, Developing Women Leaders: A Guide for Men and Women in Organizations (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). Paper. Optional.
· All readings are also on reserve in the Kennedy School Library and/or available online.
· The following web sites should be perused from time to time:
www.catalyst.com; www.cawp.rutgers.edu; http://www.familiesandwork.org; http://www.womenscampaigninternational.org; and http://www.emilyslist.org/
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Course Grading:
Students will be evaluated on the basis of:
1) the vigor and competence of their participation, primarily in class, secondarily on line
2) the ambition and competence of their two written papers
Grades will be determined in approximate accord with the following percentages:
2) Participation: 40 %
3) Papers: 60 %
Final Notes:
First, the use of personal computers is prohibited during class. Second, in the event that you must leave class before 2:00 pm, please inform the course assistant in advance of the session. Third, on the remote chance that you have to miss more than one class, please explain your situation to me. Fourth, students should be aware that all class sessions will involve their active participation, and that in so far as possible I will include everyone in the room. Fifth, the syllabus that follows is virtually final. However, small adjustments might still be made during the semester, either at my initiative or yours. Finally, feel free to speak to me at any point during the module with any questions or concerns.
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SYLLABUS
Thursday, October 20: WHY WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP – AND FOLLOWERSHIP?
How are we defining leadership and followership? Why study women/leadership/followership?
Readings:
· Barbara Kellerman and Deborah L. Rhode, Women & Leadership: The State of Play and Strategies for Change (Jossey-Bass, 2007), pp. 1-35 (notes optional).
· Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders (Harvard Business Press 2007), pp. 1-27.
Continued . . .
· Barbara Kellerman, Followership: How Followers are Creating Change and Changing Leaders (Harvard Business Press, 2008), pp. xv-xxii, 25-47.
· Barbara Kellerman, “The Abiding Tyranny of the Male Leadership Model — A Manifesto”
HBR Blog, April 27, 2010. [Accessible through: http://blogs.hbr.org/imagining-the-future-of-leadership/2010/04/the-abiding-tyranny-of-the-mal.html]
Tuesday, October 25: THE PAST
What is the (Anglo-American) historical context within which the issue of women and leadership is embedded? What are some of the other historical contexts that are represented in the class - and that should therefore be considered?
Readings:
· Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (W.W. Norton, 1988), pp. 7-11. (Originally published in 1792.)
· Toni Bentley, “A ‘Hyena in Petticoats,’” in The New York Times Book Review, May 29, 2005, pp. 5-6. [Accessible through: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07EFDA1739F93AA15756C0A9639C8B63 ]
· Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments” in Estelle B. Freedman, ed., The Essential Feminist Reader (Modern Library, 2007), pp. 58-62. (Originally published in 1848.)
· Sojourner Truth, Two Speeches in Freedman, op. cit., pp. 63-66.
· Lynne Olson, Freedom's Daughters The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement From 1830 to 1970, Preface and Chapter 1, pp. 13-32. [Chapter 1 is also accessible at: http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/o/olson-daughters.html ]
· Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (Norton, 2001), pp. 15-32. (And also passim, as inclined.)
Thursday, October 27: THE PRESENT
What are some of the recent contributions to the conversation on women and equity, and women and leadership?
· Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Beyond the Double Bind: Women and Leadership (Oxford, 1995), pp. 3-21.
· Gail Collins, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present (Little Brown, 2009), pp. 3-8, 11-24.
Continued . . .
· United Nations Fourth Conference on Women (1995), Four Speeches in Freedman, op cit., pp. 402-414.
· Deborah Rhode and Amanda Packel, Leadership: Law, Policy, and Management (Aspen Elective Series, 2011), pp. 371-404 and 418-425.
· Hanna Rosin, “The End of Men,” The Atlantic, July/August 2010. [Accessible through: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/8135/]
Tuesday, November 1: THE DIFFERENCE “DIFFERENCE” MAKES
Are men and women different? Do women and men lead and follow differently?
Readings:
· Nannerl Keohane, “Crossing the Bridge: Reflections on Women and Leadership” in Kellerman and Rhode, op cit, pp.65-88 (notes optional).
· Anita Hill, “What Difference Will Women Judges Make? Looking Once More at the ‘Woman Question’” in Kellerman and Rhode, op cit., pp. 175-190 (notes optional); and Neil A. Lewis, “Debate on Whether Female Judges Decide Differently Arises Anew,” New York Times, [Accessible through: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/politics/04women.html ]
· Eagly and Carli, op. cit., pp. 29-48 and 119-135.
· Rose McDermott et al, “Testosterone and Aggression in a Simulated Crisis Game” [Accessible through: http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/McDermott/papers/McDermott%20et%20al%20%202007%20Testosterone%20gender%20and%20aggression%20in%20a%20simulated%20crisis%20game.pdf]
· Herminia Ibarra et al, “Why Men Still Get More Promotions than Women” in Harvard Business Review, September, 2010, pp. 80-85. In course packet.
· Sheryl Sandberg, “Facebook COO Sanberg: The Women of My Generation Blew It, So Equality is Up to You, Graduates,” Business Insider 18 May 2011 (Commencement speech given at Barnard college in May 2011) [Accessible through: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-coo-sandberg-the-women-of-my-generation-blew-it-so-equality-is-up-to-you-graduates-2011-5 ]
· Ken Auletta, "A Woman's Place,” The New Yorker, July 11, 2011 [Accessible through: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/07/11/110711fa_fact_auletta]
Continued . . .
· Note: There will be an in class viewing on this day of Sheryl Sandberg, “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders” (TED 12/10 conference). In the event you are not in class, you can see Sandberg deliver her talk on line. (The clip runs 15 minutes.)
Thursday, November 3: LOOKING IN: WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?
Do women have propensities and/or preferences- particularly as they pertain to work/life/family balance issues - that impact their advancement to leadership roles?
Readings:
· Eagly and Carli, op. cit., pp. 49-65.
· Barbara Kellerman and Deborah L. Rhode, “Viable Options: Rethinking Women and Leadership” in Compass (Center for Public Leadership, 2004), pp 14-17, 37. [Accessible through: http://www.centerforpublicleadership.org/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&view=book&id=7&Itemid=297]
· Silvia Ann Hewlett, Creating a Life: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Having a Baby and a Career (Hyperion, 2003), pp. 125-157, p. 250.
Tuesday, November 8: LOOKING OUT: CONSTRAINTS ON WHAT WOMEN WANT
What if any are the individual and institutional constraints on women who want to lead? How does context matter?
Readings:
· Todd L. Pittinsky, Laura M. Bacon, and Brian Welle, “The Great Women Theory of Leadership? Perils of Positive Stereotypes and Precarious Pedestals” in Kellerman and Rhode, op. cit, pp. 93-116 (notes optional).
· Eagly and Carli, op. cit., pp. 67-100 and 101-118.
· Ronald A. Heifetz, “Leadership, Authority, and Women: A Man’s Challenge” in Kellerman and Rhode, op. cit, pp. 311-326 (notes optional).
· Sylvia Ann Hewlett, “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Women’s Nonlinear Career Paths” in Kellerman and Rhode, op. cit., pp. 407-428.
Continued . . .
· Sylvia Ann Hewlett et al, “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited,” Harvard Business Review, June 2010, pp. [Accessible through: http://hbr.org/2010/06/off-ramps-and-on-ramps-revisited/ar/1]
· Herminia Ibarra and Morten T. Hansen, “Women CEOs: Why So Few?” HBR Blog, December 21, 2010. [Accessible through: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2009/12/women_ceo_why_so_few.html]
Thursday, November 10: WOMEN IN WORLD POLITICS
What’s happening outside the United States? What “if women ruled the world”?
Readings:
· Pippa Norris, “Opening the Door: Women Leaders and Constitution Building in Iran and Afghanistan” in Kellerman and Rhode, op. cit, pp. 197-220 (notes optional).
· Francis Fukuyama, “Women and the Evolution of World Politics” in Foreign Affairs, September/ October, 1998. [Accessible through: http://web.centre.edu/lorihm/fukuyama.htm]
· Barbara Ehrenreich, Katha Pollitt, et al., “Fukuyama's Follies: So What if Women Ruled the World?” in Foreign Affairs, January/ February 1999. [Accessible through: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19990101faresponse956/barbara-ehrenreich-katha-pollitt/fukuyama-s-follies-so-what-if-women-ruled-the-world.html ]
· Karen Beckwith and Kimberly Cowell-Meyers, “Sheer Numbers: Critical Representation Threshholds and Women’s Political Representation” in APSA/Perspectives on Politics, September 2007, pp. 553-565.
· Michael Schmidt and Yasir Ghazi, “Iraqi women Feel Shunted Despite Election Quotas” in New York Times, March 13, 2011. [Accessible through: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/world/middleeast/13baghdad.html?_r=1]
· Leymah Gbowee and Carol Mithers, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War, (Beast Books, 2011), pp. 101-132.
Continued . . .
Tuesday, November 15: WOMEN IN AMERICAN POLITICS
What in recent years has been the American experience? What research findings particularly pertain?