WGSS 66.38 Leadership, Sex, and Gender in Politics and Business

Why are there still so few women running companies, countries, and the governments?   Nearly everywhere in the world, gender equity continues to be an aspiration, rather than a reality, with no end in sight as to when a reasonable degree of parity will ever actually be achieved.  Despite widespread awareness of principles around the equality of women in the modern era, it continues to the be the exception rather than the rule for women to become corporate board members, C-suite members, partners in law firms, college presidents, tenured professors, political leaders, or leaders in nearly any kind of organization where pay and/or power are considerable.  Moreover, parity continues to be even more elusive for women of color and others who face “double difference” than for white women, and non-binary individuals face yet another set of hurdles with respect to equity.  Why is this the case?  How does it matter?  What would need to be done to change it?  And what are the roles of individuals versus institutions in instituting change?  We will be examining the latest scholarly research and real-world examples to grapple with these important questions through active discussion and through writing assignments, with a podcast project focused on educating the class on student-selected topics as a highlight of the quarter.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:SOC; WCult:CI

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies