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50+1 In The Hamptons: IWPR’s Dr. C. Nicole Mason Talks Gender Equity

On August 18, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research joined forces with Fondation CHANEL, James Lane Post, LILLY, and Johnnie Walker to present 50+1 In The Hamptons, a day dedicated to female leaders and supporters of gender equity at a private home in Water Mill. The day included intimate panel discussions on building women’s power and influence, while addressing gender and economic equity challenges across the 50 states.

Robyn Watson-Ellerby, Adeline Azrack, Errin Haimes, Dr. C. Nicole Mason, Elizabeth Barajas Roman, Kate Kelley, Sophie Kelly. Photo by Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com

Featured speakers included Adeline Azrack, Fondation CHANEL US’s managing director, Errin Haines, the founder and editor of The 19th, Dr. C. Nicole Mason, IWPR’s president and CEO, Sophie Kelly, the SVP of whiskies for DIAGEO North America, Elizabeth Barajas-Román, the president and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network, and Kate Kelley, SVP of brand partnerships for the LILLY Social Action Campaign.

The event continued the important discussion on gender equity that began at IWPR’s successful Power+ Summit in April and is the first in an ongoing series of panels and events that IWPR will host on important topics affecting women in America.

The mission of IWPR is to “win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society.” As a leading national think tank, IWPR builds evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence. The work of IWPR has shifted the conversation on the gender wage gap, job discrimination, Social Security, educational access, child care, and much more.

“This is a pivotal moment in history for women in America. Many of the gains we have made over the last half-century are being stripped away. It’s time to accelerate our efforts and put forward the boldest ideas and solutions that will bring about real change,” said Dr. C. Nicole Mason.

Dr. C. Nicole Mason. Photo by Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com

Three years ago, Dr. Mason took over IWPR, and with bold thinking she has worked to move the needle for women in America. Just prior to the Hamptons event, we caught up with Dr. Mason to learn more about her work.

Talk a little about IWPR’s mission.

IWPR is a think tank focusing on women’s economic security and accelerating women’s power and influence in society. We’ve been around for about 30 years and I’ve been leading IWPR for the last three years. When I came onboard I thought it was really important to our research to focus on what’s happening in the world in real time and really think about what change levers we need to pull to make that happen.

IWPR recently hosted the Power+ Summit. Talk a little about that concept and experience.

The Power+ Summit was an opportunity for us to bring together women working across sectors of business — nonprofits, sports, philanthropy, tech — to really think about what we should be doing differently to achieve the progress that we want for women. There are very few spaces where all of these sectors come together. We wanted to start the conversation. For example, the pay gap has only closed about $.20 in the last 50 years, and so how might we think about goals for women’s progress and how we can work collectively to accelerate that progress and to meet those goals… We asked women to come with their biggest and boldest ideas for change.

What do you hope is the takeaway from the Hamptons event?

Over the last couple of months, women have taken a few blows. Most recently Roe V. Wade and The American Families Plan. The event is about possibility and thinking about what we should be focused on now, especially during this historic social and political moment. I firmly believe that in order to accelerate change and to move the needle on any of these issues, we have to be focused on the cultural narrative. In order for us to continue in this work, we have to believe in the possibility of a better tomorrow.

Talk a little about the history of IWPR.

It was founded by Heidi Hartmann. She was a lone wolf, trained economist, really thinking about the role of women in the economy. She was one of the first people to articulate the impact of having women in the workforce. She was a real trailblazer.

Tell us about the inspiration for your book “Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey from Nothing to Something in America” and the new book you have in the works?

The book is a reflection of my journey up until this point and an opportunity to bring all of my worlds together — my understanding of what I know being raised by a single mother in the US, and what it takes to reach the other side of adversity, and really articulating a vision forward for all of us.

I’m currently at work on a book. It’s about articulating why we haven’t achieved the progress that we had hoped for. I’ve been doing this work for about 22 years now and I’m really trying to articulate how we actually do it. For me, that includes new strategies and new thinking.

You were named one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune Magazine. How did it feel to receive this honor?

I have to say, it was really very unexpected. I’ve been doing this work for more than two decades and doing it out of a place of pure passion and love and commitment to the possibility of a better tomorrow. So when you have your head down and you look up and there’s this acknowledgment, it feels very special. For me, it comes with a lot of responsibility to continue to do this work in an elevated way.

Jessica Mackin-Cipro

Co-Publisher/Editor

Jessica Mackin-Cipro is an editor and lifestyle writer from the East End of Long Island. She was previously the Executive Editor of The Independent Newspaper and co-founded James Lane Post in 2020. She has won multiple NYPA and PCLI awards for journalism, design, and social media, including the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence. In 2023, she was a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award at the United Nations 67th Annual Commission on the Status of Women. She aims to share the stories of inspirational people and places on the East End and beyond.