Michelle Travis is a law professor at the University of San Francisco’s School of Law, where she serves as a Director of USF’s Labor and Employment Law Program. She is an expert on employment discrimination law and serves as the Co-Director of USF’s Labor and Employment Law Program. Her research focuses on sex discrimination, gender stereotypes, work/family conflict, and disability discrimination in the workplace. She teaches courses on employment law and civil litigation, and she has won multiple teaching awards. She has a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. in psychology from Cornell University, and is also the author of an award-winning children’s picture book, My Mom Has Two Jobs, which celebrates working moms. She has a new book out, Dads For Daughters: How Fathers Can Give their Daughters a Better, Brighter, Fairer Future.
In this episode, Stew and Michelle talk about the ways by which men can help empower women. In spite of the progress that’s been made, we still live in a world that’s profoundly unequal, with a massive gender pay gap and deeply-ingrained gender stereotypes. They discuss the various forms of resistance to change -- both psychological and cultural -- and steps that can be taken to to overcome them. And they explore how pandemic times present an unexpected opportunity for fathers to get more involved in caregiving and to raise their awareness of what it means to be a champion for gender equity.
Here’s a challenge, an invitation, for you to consider, after you’ve listened to this episode: What small step can you now take to help make the world a more fair place for girls? Share your thoughts on this episode and ideas for future shows with Stew Friedman at friedman@wharton.upenn.edu or connect with him on LinkedIn.