Siri Chilazi: Building a Fair Workplace for Everyone to Succeed

Episode recap:

Today’s guest is Siri Chilazi, a leading gender expert, Harvard researcher, and co-author of Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results. Marcel and Siri discussed gender equity in the workplace, highlighting progress made and challenges that remain in achieving fairness for all employees. They explored strategies for implementing gender equity, including the use of data-driven approaches, revising hiring practices, and adapting leadership criteria to reflect changing work environments. The conversation also touched on the impact of remote work, the importance of work-life balance, and the need for empathy and compassion in leadership to create more equitable workplaces.

Bio:

Siri Chilazi is a senior researcher at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School whose life’s work is to advance gender equality in the workplace. As a keynote speaker and strategic advisor, Siri collaborates with a wide range of organizations around the world. Her work regularly appears in leading media outlets. Siri has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard College.

Quotes:

• "We should be all have the same chance to show what we can do and what we're made of."
• "Talent exists everywhere, and when we refuse to allow for the potential of talents based on things like ethnicity or extracurriculars that have nothing to do with the skills you bring to the table, we miss out on many really good people who could do excellent work in our organizations."

Takeaways:

• Track gender representation in your team's work by spending just two minutes after each project to count participation percentages.
• Redesign your hiring process using structured interviews with pre-determined questions and horizontal grading to reduce unconscious bias.
• Rotate administrative tasks like note-taking and meeting scheduling to prevent one gender from consistently handling "office housework"

Timestamps:

[00:00] Why Fairness Still Matters More Than Ever at Work

[02:53] How Siri Went from Lab Coat to Leadership

[06:19] What Fair Work Really Looks Like in 2025 and Beyond

[09:31] Surprising Ways Bias Still Shows Up in Hiring Today

[16:11] Why Most DEI Programs Fail Inside the Day-to-Day

[22:30] How Tracking the Right Data Closes Fairness Gaps

[27:16] Changing Behavior Beats Changing Minds at Work

[30:42] Fixing How We Hire and Promote Without Bias

[39:45] What Remote Work Really Means for Women’s Growth

[45:48] Making Parental Leave Equal Changes Everything

[50:01] What CEOs Can Actually Do to Make Work More Fair

[51:58] How Small Changes Build More Fair Workplaces Fast

Conclusion:

Workplaces still reflect deep-rooted inequalities, especially in how people are hired, promoted, and evaluated. These patterns often hold back women and other underrepresented groups. Instead of trying to shift personal beliefs, lasting change comes from fixing the systems themselves. Clear, consistent practices—like fair assessments, equal chances for growth, and shared responsibilities—can help build a more level playing field. When fairness is built into everyday processes, everyone benefits.

Links/Resources:

Website: https://sirichilazi.com/

Book: https://makeworkfair.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sirichilazi/

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