Information about this center is no longer updated. This data was last updated on 13 April 2013.

Phone: 617-496-6973
Website: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/wappp
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Description

The Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government is a research center that seeks to educate the next generation of government leaders on gender perspectives while contributing to scholarship on women and public policy. Founded in 1997, WAPPP's mission is "to address public policies that have an impact on women, and to inform and learn from women who shape public policies, with the ultimate goal of creating a world more balanced in opportunity and more secure."

Programs and Partners

WAPPP works toward this goal through five program areas: government, business, developing economies, security, and religion. In many instances, WAPPP partners with organizations and departments within the University (such as the Pluralism Project), as well as with relevant players in the government, media, corporate sector, military, and civil society in order to enhance the impact of its efforts. Earlier this spring, WAPPP co-sponsored the Pluralism Project's screening of "Acting on Faith: Women and New Religious Activism in America."

Cutting Edge of Women and Policy

By offering competitive fellowships and research grants, WAPPP remains at the cutting edge of scholarship on women and public policy. It also sponsors and participates in several research initiatives, such as the Boston Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights<. A number of advisors and affiliates assist WAPPP in setting its research and programmatic priorities. Its faculty Executive Committee "provides oversight and strategic direction and is the key decision making body for the organization."

Other Events

Throughout each year, WAPPP provides various opportunities for women leaders to learn from and network with one another. Public fora, workshops, conferences, colloquia, and brown bag lunches offer settings for advancing women's leadership. These events provide the visibility for WAPPP's work while fostering its viability for the future.

Policy and Religious Pluralism

In April 2002, the Pluralism Project's Women's Networks in Multi-Religious America hosted a consultation in conjunction with WAPPP that sought to equip participants with the necessary tools for influencing public discourse and policy. After her first experience with the Women's Networks, Swanee Hunt, WAPPP Director, noted: "I'm struck with these different strands here: the value of building the relationships, of getting over the stereotypes - or at least seeing over the walls of the stereotypes."