Op-Ed: Elena Kagan and the ‘Tipping Point’

The Record (Trenton, NJ)
July 21, 2010

With Elena Kagan’s confirmation, we would now have three women Justices on the Supreme Court. Sumru Erkut, associate director and senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women, believes that if corporate boards offer any indication, Kagan’s confirmation can make a significant difference in the way the Court deliberates. Erkut and colleagues Vicki W. Kramer and Alison M. Konrad produced a report, Critical Mass on Corporate Boards: Why Three or More Women Enhance Governance in 2006. Their research indicated that three usually represents a tipping point. Having three or more women in a small decision-making group constitutes a critical mass that can transform the way that group operates.