Gender

The Covid-19 crisis has reconfigured how we work, parent, and care for ourselves and our communities. It remains uncertain how a post-pandemic society will function, but already a consensus is emerging that the global pivot to working remotely will likely change how many companies think about face time and rigid work schedules.

On the afternoon of Monday, March 9, Arianna Huffington spoke to the Harvard Business School community in a special edition of the Dean’s Speaker Series in honor of International Women's Day. Huffington appeared in Klarman Hall via livestream from her home in California, a planned virtual conversation that now seems incredibly prescient given the rapid cascade of cancellations and restrictions from Covid-19. While originally anticipating hundreds of students, faculty, and staff seated comfortably within Klarman Hall, attendees instead viewed the presentation remotely in smaller groups throughout campus in accordance with social distancing protocols.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett unexpectedly launched Women's History Month a few days early this year. In his annual Berkshire Hathaway letter to shareholders, he highlighted the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. He then pointed out that women still don't have a voice on corporate boards, where they are hugely underrepresented. This lack of diversity doesn't just hurt women and their careers — it can foster poor corporate governance and reduced financial performance.