Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies

Why don’t women promote themselves?

Wharton’s Judd Kessler co-authored a study, “The Gender Gap in Self-Promotion,” which measured confidence and self-promotion among women about their performance at work.

Penn Today Staff

Less and later marriage in South Korea

Sociologist Hyunjoon Park sheds light on why marriage rates are falling in South Korea, particularly among highly educated women and low-educated men.

Penn Today Staff

Alice Paul and the ERA

After almost a hundred years, the Equal Rights Amendment may finally be ratified as an amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Mary Frances Berry, Kathleen M. Brown and Maria Murphy discuss what ratification could mean.

Kristina García

Seeing life through their eyes

Through the voices and stories of seven men, a feature-length documentary co-produced and directed by Annenberg Dean John L. Jackson Jr. and graduate student Nora Gross illustrates what it means to be black and gay in the south.

Michele W. Berger

Paid family leave: What’s the right model?

With companies exploring gender biases in the workplace, the issue of parental leave highlights gender inequality and brings all parents into the fold when analyzing family leave policies.

Penn Today Staff

How gender and racial biases are hurting economics

Following a survey released this month by the American Economic Association that reveals a disturbingly high level of gender bias in the field, Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell discusses the effects of gender and racial biases in the field of economics.

Penn Today Staff

Making a movement from #MeToo

At Perry World House Monday, activists from around the world talked about how they’re working to make sure the stories of women and girls are told—and heard.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Black feminism 101

Author and alum Feminista Jones joined Tanji Gilliam of Africana Studies in a discussion of her new book “Reclaiming Our Space,” examining how Twitter and modern liberation movements are all borne from black women’s words, struggle, and history.

Tina Rodia



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In the News


Associated Press

Women’s Day events highlight major gaps in gender equality

Kristen Ghodsee of the School of Arts & Sciences says that International Women’s Day has a history of promoting progressive, socialist causes within the entire working class.

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Technical.ly Philly

An LGBTQ health initiative at Penn just launched a 5-year partnership with investing group Gaingels

The School of Nursing’s Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative has partnered with Gaingels to leverage academic, intellectual, and research resources across Penn and promote health within queer populations.

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Chicago Tribune

Review: ‘The First Homosexuals’ at Wrightwood 659 captures the emergence of a ‘new identity’

A review examines “The First Homosexuals,” an exhibition curated by Jonathan D. Katz of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues including Pavel Golubev, a visiting scholar taking refuge at Penn.

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Times Higher Education

Europe is ahead of the U.S. on gender equity. So why is abuse in HE rife?

In an opinion piece, Susan B. Sorenson of the School of Social Policy & Practice contrasts Europe’s pronounced efforts to reduce gender inequality with recent studies which find alarming rates of gender-based violence in European universities.

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The Washington Post

What Iran’s protest slogans tell us about the uprising

Fatemeh Shams of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Iranian protest chants have shifted emphasis from male political figures and systemic reform to teenaged female martyrs and rejection of any form of autocratic rule.

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ABC News

Weinstein, Masterson trials highlight the uphill battle to address sexual violence

Melissa Sanchez of the School of Arts & Sciences says that prosecutors should try Weinstein with many cases in many jurisdictions to reinforce the scope and scale of his actions.

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