Gender Equality Interventions in Project-Based Organizations: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why

Project-based organizations (PBOs) are increasingly adopting gender equality interventions; yet most of the knowledge on the subject is anecdotal and scattered across epistemological communities. We studied gender equality interventions in project-based organizations through a systematic literature review and semistructured interviews. We identified a comprehensive list of interventions and their success or failure mechanisms. Successful interventions include structural changes, mentorship, training, work-life balance programs, signaling, cultural shifts, laws, and health and safety measures. Key mechanisms are raising awareness, enhancing transparency, incentivizing stakeholders, eliminating perceptual barriers, and shifting mentalities. Cognitive dissonance theory explains why specific interventions succeed while others fail.