RAND Women to Watch

Elizabeth Bodine-Baron speaking at the Roberta Wohlstetter Forum on National Security in Arlington, Virginia, October 24, 2018

Elizabeth Bodine-Baron

Women have been at the core of RAND's success since its earliest days. The diversity of talent and experience among women at RAND—in both research and leadership—is reflected in the quality and impact of our work. From providing evidence that informs the debate over health care reform, to quantifying the benefits of prisoner education, or providing insights into counterterrorism strategies, women at RAND are tackling our most complex policy questions.

Dionne Barnes-Proby speaking at a joint meeting of the RAND Board of Trustees and Pardee RAND Graduate School Board of Governors at RAND's Santa Monica headquarters on November 9, 2018, photo by Diane Baldwin/RAND Corporation

Dionne Barnes-Proby

This Month's Woman to Watch

Our Work Addresses Key Policy Questions About Gender

Gender Equity in the Workplace

Despite gains in recent decades, women continue to receive lower pay, experience lower workforce participation, and may miss career advancement opportunities due to motherhood. RAND's research has examined the challenges and discrimination women face in many settings, as well as the impact of parenting and family life on career outcomes.

  • A 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot in her aircraft during the squadron's deployment in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria, March 18, 2016

    Report

    How the U.S. Air Force Could Retain More Female Officers

    Women are underrepresented among the Air Force's senior leadership compared with their representation among the lower ranks. Focus groups with female officers identified key retention factors and potential ways to improve Air Force policies and programs to address female officer retention.

More on Gender Equity in the Workplace »

Women's Health

Women have unique health needs, and face inequity in both quality and outcomes of health care. RAND's work has highlighted gender gaps in health care access and quality, measured the health needs of specific female populations, evaluated programs aimed at improving outcomes, and demonstrated how policy impacts women's options.

  • Women and their families sit on a bench

    Research Brief

    Evaluating Global Family Planning Programs

    In 2013, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched two programs to help track progress toward a global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020. Evaluating these programs, researchers found opportunities for improvement in four areas.

More on Women's Health »

Female Populations

Women and girls face barriers to fully participating in society, including gender-based and intimate-partner violence, sexual assault, unmet health needs, and discrimination. RAND research has examined the needs of women refugees and migrants, gender disparities in health care, the effects of homelessness on women, and the impact of stress on girls.

  • Um Akram, a Syrian refugee, creates soap under Jasmine, a project which hires and trains Syrian refugee women to create handicrafts, in Amman, Jordan, July 11, 2016

    Commentary

    As Refugees, Syrian Women Find Liberation in Working

    Syrian refugee women in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan want opportunities to work. But there are multiple barriers and challenges that limit them. Improving the chances of safe and dignified work opportunities for Syrian women in these countries could yield broad positive social benefits for both the refugee and host communities.

More on Female Populations »

Notable Women in RAND's History

Roberta Wohlstetter

Wohlsetter first published at RAND in 1948. She was a military historian best known for her book Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision, considered by many to be the definitive analysis of the intelligence failures that led to the attack. Learn more »

Margaret Mead

Mead was an American cultural anthropologist. She studied Russian culture and attitudes toward authority while at RAND from 1948 to 1950. Learn more »

Leona Woods Marshall Libby

Libby was an American physicist who helped build the first nuclear reactor. She worked at RAND from the mid-1960s to 1976. Learn more »

Nancy Nimitz

Nimitz joined RAND in 1952 and specialized in economic studies of Soviet agriculture. Her work involved research on Soviet national income and product.

Rose Gottemoeller

Gottemoeller is NATO's Deputy Secretary General, the first woman ever appointed to that post. She was a researcher at RAND from 1977 to 1993. Learn more »

Tora Bikson

Bikson, a nationally known advocate for ethics in social science research, worked at RAND from 1974 to 2013. She was among the first experts to address the United States' rules for human subjects protection in research in the social and behavioral sciences. Learn more »

Nicole Lurie

Lurie served as the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration. While at RAND from 2002 to 2009, she was the Paul O'Neill Alcoa Professor of Health Policy. Learn more »

Women in Leadership at RAND

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