Corinne Low on 'What Data Tells Us About Women's Lives'

Having It All: What Data Tells Us About Women's Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours (Flatiron Books, Sept. 23 2025)

Corinne Low, Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Moderator: Sonia Kang, Professor, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management, Department of Management, University of Toronto- Mississauga, Director, Insitute for Gender and the Economy (GATE), Canada Research Chair in Identity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Co-Presented by: Institute for Gender & the Economy (GATE)

You’re not imagining it: Women aren’t getting a good deal at home or at work. We have the evidence to prove it. This book gives you the power to change it.

For women in America today, the promise of “having it all” is an ever-elusive carrot. Faced with unsustainable demands in every sphere, we are certainly doing it all—but at a steep cost. Research shows that biologically, culturally, and economically, we are on uneven playing ground, and one that drains us of our happiness. But that same data can empower us to make choices that will reclaim our time, our energy―and even our joy.

In Having It All, Wharton professor and economist Dr. Corinne Low unpacks the hidden factors that influence women’s decision-making, and how the unintended consequences of these choices alter the course of our lives. From when and whether to get married and (or) have children to what type of career to pursue, whether to obtain an advanced degree to where to live—Dr. Low explores questions such as:

• What if there is no optimal time to “have a family” but rather a slew of different considerations at different life stages?
• What if we approached decisions around marriage and partnership as rigorously as we would an employment opportunity?
• What if we valued our time in dollars and cents, and structured our lives around choices that give us the greatest return on our investments?

For too long, women have been expected to accept labor-intensive solutions to systemic problems—optimize, lean in, work harder. But Dr. Low isn’t suggesting women need to do more. In the tradition of bestselling books like Eve Rodsky’s Fair Play and Emily Oster’s Cribsheet, Having It All blends personal experience, research, and analysis to illuminate the complex decisions women face, and offers an evidence-based framework for creating a better, happier life. Consider it the essential economics textbook for life as a woman—but hopefully, a little more fun.

Corinne Low is an Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the economics of gender and discrimination and has been published in top journals such as the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Journal of Political Economy. She was named one of Poets and Quants 40 MBA Professors under 40 in 2024. Her first book, , was published in September by Flatiron.

Corinne and her work have also been featured by major popular media outlets, including Forbes, Vanity Fair, The LA Times, and NPR. Corinne is the co-creator of the Incentivized Resume Rating method for measuring hiring discrimination, and regularly speaks to and works with firms looking to improve their hiring and retention practices. She has spoken to and advised firms like Google, IFM Investors, Uber, Activision Blizzard, and Amazon Web Services, in addition to teaching in Wharton’s Executive Education programs. She has given talks to top academic institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, and Oxford, as well as to organizations like the New York Federal Reserve, Brookings, and the US Department of Labor. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University, her B.S. in Economics and Public Policy from Duke University, and formerly worked for McKinsey and Company. Outside of work, she is the co-founder and volunteer executive director for Open Hearts Initiative, a New York City based non-profit that aims to combat the homelessness crisis through pro-housing neighborhood organizing.

Sonia Kang is a Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management in the Department of Management at the University of Toronto Mississauga and director of the Insitute for Gender and the Economy (GATE). She holds a cross-appointment to the Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management area at Rotman. Her research explores the challenges and opportunities of diversity, including strategies for mitigating the far-reaching effects of stigma and harnessing the power of diversity for society and organizations alike. Sonia’s research has been published in journals including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Administrative Science Quarterly, and the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and has been featured in media outlets such as The Globe and Mail and The Atlantic.

This event is available to attend in-person or virtually via livestream.

Rotman Events is committed to accessibility for all people. If you have any access needs or if there are any ways we can support your full participation in this session, please email Megan Murphy [ZXZlbnRzIHwgcm90bWFuICEgdXRvcm9udG8gISBjYQ==] no later than 2 weeks in advance of the event and we will be glad to work with you to make the appropriate arrangements.

• The event will be hosted in Desautels Hall at the Rotman School of Management (105 Saint George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6). Your registration fee includes a copy of the book, meet-and-greet with book signing by the author, as well as access to a video replay of the session for 30 days.
  

• Rotman Events will email registrants a link to the livestream. Your registration fee includes access to the livestream, video replay for 30 days, a copy of the book and shipping fees. The book will be shipped to registrants after the event. Please allow 3 - 4 weeks for delivery.
  

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