Training the next generation of political leaders

HKS students in Oval Office training session.

Here at the Women and Public Policy Program, we are dedicated to closing gender gaps in economic opportunity, health, education and political participation. Research shows us that women are far less likely to run for office than equally qualified men, even though when they run, they win just as often and change social norms around gender. That’s why WAPPP, supported by the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, offers the “From Harvard Square to the Oval Office” program every year targeted to female graduate students aspiring to hold political office.

Refinery 29, in partnership with We Are the XX, created a video that explains how women are changing the political scene – and public policy priorities – in the City of Boston. It features Boston City Councilor and Oval Office Alumna Michelle Wu as well as Councilor-Elect Andrea Campbell. Both women discuss the unlikely paths that brought them to politics and share advice for young women considering public office. Adrienne Kimmell, Executive Director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, is also interviewed in the video about the barriers for women in Massachusetts politics.

For more on how women in political leadership help to narrow the gender gap, visit the Political Representation section of WAPPP's Gender Action Portal.