Women’s History Month 2021: Spotlight on WomenLead Endowed Faculty

ATLANTA–For Women’s History Month, WomenLead interviewed the three faculty members who hold the program’s endowed positions about their work on issues affecting women.

Charlotte Alexander, Connie D. and Ken McDaniel WomenLead Chair and director of the Legal Analytics Lab, discusses using computational text analysis to study the form and content of more than 3,000 recommendation letters for gender bias.

Kris Byron, Meredith M. Leapley WomenLead Professor and professor of management, describes the findings of a meta-analysis she conducted with Corinne Post of Lehigh University examining how women directors impact firms’ engagement in socially responsible business practices.

Sarah Allen Gershon, Ray and John Uttenhove WomenLead Professor and associate professor of political science, describes an essay she co-authored with Nadia E. Brown of Purdue University on Black women’s electoral challenges and opportunities.

Alexander, Byron and Gershon were appointed to WomenLead’s endowed positions in 2020.

WomenLead is an undergraduate leadership program open to all Georgia State University students. Established in 2015, the semester long course equips students with the skills, experience and networking opportunities needed for a seat at the table. As of spring 2021, more than 1,000 students have taken WomenLead in Business, WomenLead in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, WomenLead in Policy and Politics, and WomenLead in Science. A fifth unit, WomenLead in Technology, will be introduced in fall 2021. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business recognized WomenLead in 2018 as an “innovation that inspires.