Value proposition

Diagnosing barriers, developing interventions, disseminating research-based solutions to advance women's leadership

Our Mission

The VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Lab at Stanford University generates foundational research to advance women's leadership by diagnosing barriers, developing and evaluating interventions to get beyond barriers, and disseminates research-based solutions by bridging the gap between research and practice.

We are conscious of the need to advance women across multiple marginalizations/identities/contexts, and strive for our research and interventions to be inclusive and intersectional. We commit to these practices in analyzing not only gender, but seeking to address other salient social identities like race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, ability, sexual orientation, nationality, etc.

Social-Impact Research

The Lab takes a holistic approach to diagnosing the barriers that women face at critical transitions – from the formation of leadership identity in school, to entry in professional arenas, to transitional roles and accessing critical assignments and senior leadership opportunities.

Our research asks two fundamental questions:

Creating Inclusive Workplaces: How can we create long-term, sustainable change in organizational cultures, processes, and management, in particular by reducing the negative effects of stereotypes on women’s career trajectories?
Empowering Change Agents: How can we empower individual change agents, from high school to the C-suite, in implementing change towards the advancement of women?

We actively test and disseminate solutions in both areas: modifying organizational culture, processes, team dynamics and culture for greater equity, and empowering individuals to enact change at the local level and in their own careers.