California bill is influenced by WCW research findings that it takes three female members on a corporate board to make a real impact on decision-making and governance.
Research from WCW shows that it takes three women on a corporate board to influence decision-making.
NBC News: Women in the News A study by WCW's Sumru Erkut found that corporate boards need three women in order to fully reap the benefits of gender diversity on a corporate board.
Most research about family sexuality communication has focused on teens and their parents, but Dr. Jennifer Grossman is including conversations with extended family members to understand how they can help teens make smarter decisions about dating, sex, and relationships.
The vast majority of our society’s leaders are men— every president of the United States and very likely, many of our past bosses. This is also still the case in regional theater even though many in the field can easily think of a few female leaders at those larger regional theaters, like Diane Paulus, Lynn Meadow, and Molly Smith. There are as many women as men who graduate with advanced degrees in theater arts or theater management, and there are plenty of women employed in all ranks but the highest. Moreover, the majority of theater tickets are bought by women. But, for decades, women have held only about 25 percent of leadership positions in nonprofit regional theaters.
In February 2005, Sumru Erkut, Ph.D. presented "Same-Sex Marriage: The 'Legitimization' of Lesbian Lives?" at the Lesbian Lives XII conference sponsored by and held at the Women's Education, Research and Resource Centre, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Sumru Erkut, Ph.D., and Jennifer M. Grossman, Ph.D., are cited in this article on the impact of sex-ed in health classes on middle school sexual behavior.
Crisis can spell opportunity for women. Marissa Mayer’s appointment to head Yahoo can be seen as one more example of a talented woman brought in to save a company in danger of failing, a so-called “glass cliff” phenomenon-in-action where a women is hired when a company is on the verge of disastrous financial plunge. But Mayer’s appointment can also be seen as the Yahoo board being jolted into recognizing the solid business case for hiring a woman to lead their company. Our research (with my colleagues Vicki Kramer and Alison Konrad) on the advantages that a critical mass of three or more women directors can bring to a corporate board suggests that, attuned to the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, women tend to have a collaborative leadership style that increases listening, social support, and asking tough questions and demanding direct and detailed answers, all leading to win-win problem-solving. Yahoo needs all of that.
Letter to the Editor submitted by Sumru Erkut, Ph.D., to The New York Times in response to the article “Mistresses of the Universe" published February 8, 2009. (unpublished) February 10, 2009
Two years ago, scholars at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) launched a study of racial and ethnic identification among adolescents of mixed ancestry. The reasons for pursuing the research were several. Most literature about ethnic/racial self-identification patterns derived from adult respondents. For example, the series of studies that led to the change in wording of racial self-identification in the 2000 Census was carried out with adults.
Letter to the Editor submitted by Sumru Erkut, Ph.D., to The Boston Globe in response to the CDC Press Release: “One in Four Female Adolescents Is Infected with At Least One Sexually Transmitted Infection, New CDC Study Finds" published March 12, 2008. (unpublished) March 13, 2008
Letter to the Editor submitted by Sumru Erkut, Ph.D. to Ms. in response to the article "Extreme Makeover: Feminist Edition," published in Fall 2007 issue.
Does it matter to corporate governance whether women serve on a board? If so, does it make a difference how many women serve? That is, is there a critical mass that can bring significant change to the boardroom and improve corporate governance? My colleagues Vicki W. Kramer, Principal, V. Kramer Associates, and Alison M. Konrad, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, and I set out to answer these important questions. Our findings shed light on a growing problem for organizations and society: not enough women are serving on corporate boards to the corporations’ detriment.