Case Set

Women City Leaders Case Set

  • Authors LaChaun J. Banks, Anna Burgess, Lisa C. Cox, Warren Dent, Fernando Fernandez-Monge, Archon Fung, David W. Giles, Hollie Russon Gilman, Arnold M. Howitt, Jorrit de Jong, Kimberlyn Leary, Dutch Leonard, Elizabeth Linos, Gaylen W. Moore, Christopher Robichaud, Eric Weinberger, Mitchell B. Weiss
various women city leaders

Last Updated

Topics
Collaboration, Innovation, Strategic Leadership and Management

Location
Global

Overview

The rise of women’s leadership in city governments has led to more gender-equitable policies and programs and shifted societal norms about women and girls. However, women remain underrepresented in local governments worldwide, and when they do rise to positions of executive power, they disproportionally face gender-related challenges and threats.

Introduction

This collection of teaching cases features women in public leadership and management roles in cities. The learning objectives for which these cases were developed include:

  1. Thinking and acting strategically
  2. Mobilizing others to take collective action
  3. Exercising moral judgment in difficult situations
  4. Innovating in government
  5. Collaborating across organizational and sectoral boundaries
  6. Negotiating in multi-issue, multi-stakeholder contexts
  7. Engaging residents in public problem-solving

Cases come with educator guides (suggested session plans for use in academic courses) and practitioner guides (suggested session plans for standalone workshops) as they become available. As a set of curricular materials, this collection of cases lends itself well for courses and training on:

  1. Women and power
  2. Public leadership in cities
  3. Capabilities for social problem-solving

City Leadership Curriculum

The teaching cases developed by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative feature diverse protagonists, including women, people of color, and leaders from the global south.

Cases:

Collaboration

More than a Contract: Black Self-Determination and People’s Assemblies in Jackson, Mississippi

Protagonist: Safiya Omari, Chief of Staff, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba

Region: North America, South Region, United States

Location: Jackson, MS

 

Operation Pufferfish: Building and Sustaining a Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement in Lansing, Michigan

Protagonists: DeLisa Fountain, Neighborhood Resource Coordinator, Lansing Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement (DNCE); Andi Crawford, Director, Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement

Region: North America, Midwest Region, United States

Location: Lansing, MI

Innovation

Doing Something With Nothing: Trying to Make Kampala’s Primary Schools Safer and Healthier

Protagonist: Jennifer Musisi, Executive Director, Kampala Capital City Authority

Region: Africa

Location: Kampala, Uganda

 

“You Have One Hundred Days”: Accelerating Government Performance in the UAE

Protagonist: Huda Al Hashimi, Chief of Strategy and Government Innovation

Region: Asia

Location: United Arab Emirates

Strategic Leadership and Management

At the Center of the Storm: San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and the Response to Hurricane Maria

Protagonist: Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz

Region: North America, United States

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Charting a Course for Boston: Organizing for Change

Protagonist: Mayor Michelle Wu

Region: North America, Northeast Region, United States

Location: Boston, MA

 

“A Difficult Lady”: Shutting Down Pollution In Kampala, Uganda

Protagonist: Judith Tumusiime, Deputy Executive Director, Kampala, Uganda

Region: Africa

Location: Kampala, Uganda

 

The “Garbage Lady” Cleans Up Kampala: Turning Quick Wins Into Lasting Change

Protagonist: Judith Tumusiime, Deputy Executive Director, Kampala, Uganda

Region: Africa

Location: Kampala, Uganda

 

Making a Statement: Mayor Libby Schaaf and the Sanctuary City of Oakland, California

Protagonist: Mayor Libby Schaaf

Region: North America, West Region, United States

Location: Oakland, CA

 

Mayoral Transitions: How Three Mayors Stepped into the Role, in Their Own Words

Protagonist: Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard

Region: North America, Northeast Region, United States

Location: Mount Vernon, NY

 

“No Trust in Miracles”: Leading Through a Water Crisis in Cape Town

Protagonist: Executive Mayor Patricia De Lille

Region: Africa

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

 

Pressing the Right Buttons: Jennifer Musisi for New City Leadership

Protagonist: Jennifer Musisi, Executive Director, Kampala Capital City Authority

Region: Africa

Location: Kampala, Uganda

 

“The Toughest Beat”: Investing in Employee Well-Being at the Denver Sheriff Department

Protagonists: Sonya Gillespie, Chief of Administration; Kim Desmond, Director, Mayor’s Office of Social Equity and Innovation

Region: North America, West Region, United States

Location: Denver, CO

 

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