Institutional News

President Silver Discusses Leading on Her Terms

President Mariko Silver spoke with Psychology Today about some of the gender-based challenges still facing female leaders today despite the increasing representation of women in leadership roles. 

Mariko Silver

“There are a lot more ways to be a female leader or a male leader than we've allowed for,” President Silver said. “Empathy and listening are not necessarily gendered traits.”

She added, “I'm not saying leadership doesn't require special skills, but we have a fairly limited and myopic conception of what it is. Part of that narrative comes from overvaluing a stereotypically male, aggressive way of being a leader.”

“Is there any other way I can express authority? I want to be a leader in a way that is authentic to me."