David Smith, PhD

Dr. David Smith is an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School with expertise in social psychology, inclusive leadership and gender in the workplace.

Dr. Smith’s work focuses on gender, work, and family issues including allyship, inclusive leadership, inclusive mentoring/sponsoring/advocacy, bias in performance evaluations, retention/advancement of women in professions, and dual career families. He is the coauthor of two books on these topics; Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020) and Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019). Dr. Smith is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on the topic of gender in the workplace and is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.

Before joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins Carey Business school, Dr. Smith was a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, College of Leadership and Ethics; and the U.S. Naval Academy, Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Smith led diverse organizations of women and men culminating in command of a squadron in combat and flew more than 3,000 hours over 30 years including combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Education

• PhD, Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
• MS, Global Leadership, University of San Diego
• BS, Oceanography, U.S. Naval Academy

Research

Selected publications

• Smith, David G. (2023). “Men As the Missing Ingredient in Gender Equity: An Allyship Research Agenda.” In A Research Agenda for Gender and Leadership edited by L. Defrank-Cole and S. Tan. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Johnson, W. Brad, Siyi Long, David G. Smith and Kimberly A. Griffin (2022). “Creating a Mentoring Culture in Graduate Training Programs.” Training and Education in Professional Psychology.
• Melaku, Tsedale M., Angie Beeman, David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson (2020). “Be a Better Ally -- How White Men Can Help Their Marginalized Colleagues Advance.” Harvard Business Review 98(6), 135-139.
• Maffey, Katherine and David G. Smith (2020) “Women’s Participation in the Jordanian Military and Police: An Exploration of Perceptions and Aspirations.” Armed Forces & Society, 46(1), 46-67.
• Smith, David G., Judith E. Rosenstein, Margaret C. Nikolov and Darby A. Chaney (2019) “The Power of Language: Gender, Status and Agency.” Sex Roles, 80(3-4), 159-171.
• Smith, David G. and Judith E. Rosenstein (2017). “Gender and the military profession: Early career influences, attitudes, and intentions.” Armed Forces & Society, 43(2), 260-279.
• Segal, Mady W., David G. Smith, David R. Segal, and Amy A. Canuso (2016). “The Role of Leadership and Peer Behaviors in the Performance and Well-Being of Women in Combat: Historical Perspectives, Unit Integration, and Family Issues.” Military Medicine 181 (1S): 28-39.
• Smith, David G. and Mady W. Segal (2013). “On the Fast Track: Dual Military Couples Navigating Institutional Structures.” Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research (7), 213-253.

Working papers

• Melaku, Tsedale M., Angie Beeman, David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson. “From Impression Management to Performative Allyship.”
• Rosenstein, Judith E., David G. Smith and Margaret Nikolov. “Intersectional Performance Evaluations: Moving Beyond Gendered Race Theory.” Journal article under revision for Sex Roles.

Teaching

Current

• Behavioral Science: Leading Change
• Strategic Management
• Organizational Management
• Corporate Strategy

Honors and distinctions

• 2021 Axiom Business Book Award Gold Medalist, Human Resources/Employee Training Category for Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (HBR Press, 2020)
• 2017 Recipient, Charles H. Coates Commemorative Award for Research in Military Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2012 Omicron Delta Kappa
• 2010 Recipient, Charles H. Coates Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Research in Military Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
• 2010 Alpha Kappa Delta
• 2003 Academic Excellence Award, University of San Diego.
• 2002 Pacific Century Fellows Class of 2002 (Hawaii State Fellowship)

In the media

• Breaking Down Biases: Men as Allies for Women in Leadership. (May 31, 2023). Psychology Today.
• 2024 Sworn in as a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
• Send This to a Man. (March 9, 2023). theSkimm.
• 10 Must Read Books About Women In The Workplace. (March 7, 2023). Forbes.
• Getting more out of your mentoring relationship. (February 1, 2022). Forbes.
• Mentoring doesn't need to be a trial and error practice. (February 8, 2022). Forbes.
• Leaders, stop rewarding toxic rock stars. (April 20, 2022). Harvard Business Review.
• A co-worker makes a racist or sexist comment. Here's what to do. (September 12, 2021). The Philadelphia Inquirer.
• How men benefit from close relationships with women at work. (March 1, 2021). Forbes.
• We need to stop ‘untitling’ and ‘uncredentialing’ professional women. (January 22, 2021). Fast Company.
• Here’s my list of the best business books of 2020. (December 5, 2020). The Globe and Mail.
• Too many women are leaving the workforce during the pandemic. It’s time for men to lean in and help. (December 3, 2020). Los Angeles Times.
• Men are the missing ingredient in workplace gender equity. (November 21, 2020). The Globe and Mail.
• Good Guys: How men can be allies to women at work. (November 17, 2020). Reuters.
• How men can be better allies for women at work? (October 27, 2020). Brink News.
• New research on how to be an ally in the workplace. (October 20, 2020). Forbes.
• 8 things men should never do in the workplace. (October 8, 2020). Kiplinger.
• How to integrate gender allyship into your organization. (October 5, 2020). HR People + Strategy.
• FT business books: October edition. (October 1, 2020). Financial Times.
• Not to men: Mentor her! (Yes, even during a pandemic). (July 14, 2020). Chief Learning Officer.
• Trump’s comment about a wife doing dishes puts spotlight on domestic burden women still face. (May 19, 2020). Good Morning America/ABC News.
• The surprising benefits when men mentor women. (April 11, 2019). Inc.
• Knowledge is best shared. (April 6, 2019). SHRM.
• Modern guide to equality: Advancing equality in the workplace. (February 23, 2019). The Female Quotient.
• The future of masculinity: Overcoming stereotypes. (January 22, 2019). Forbes.
• Why male mentors in the #MeToo era must ‘engage more, not run for the hills’. (June 6, 2018). The Chronicle of Higher Education.
• Men learn how to be “allies,” without fear, to female colleagues. (April 1, 2018). Wall Street Journal.
• Six ways men can better mentor women in the workplace. (January 30, 2017). The Globe and Mail.