Iris Bohnet is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government and the co-director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School. She is a behavioral economist, combining insights from economics and psychology to improve decision-making in organizations and society, often with a gender or cross-cultural perspective. Her most recent research examines behavioral design to debias how we live, learn and work. She is the author of the award-winning book What Works: Gender Equality by Design and advises governments and companies on the topic around the world. She was appointed to the Gender Equality Advisory Council of the G7 in 2021 and named one of the Most Influential Academics in Government and one of the most Influential People in Gender Policy by apolitical.
Professor Bohnet served as academic dean of Harvard Kennedy School from 2011-2014 and 2018-2021. She is also the faculty co-chair of the executive program “Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century” for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. She serves on the boards, advisory boards or as a patron of Credit Suisse Group, Applied, Edge, We Shape Tech, Women in Banking and Finance, and the UK Government’s Equalities Office, and is the recipient of several awards and honorary degrees. Iris is married and the mother of two children.