About David Smith, PhD
David Smith, PhD, is a Professor of Practice and Co-Director of the Gender & Work Initiative in the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. A former Navy pilot, David 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.
As a sociologist, he focuses his research in gender, work, and family issues including allyship, inclusive leadership, mental load, gender bias in performance evaluations, and dual career families.
David is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters—many on the topic of gender and the workplace—and 3 books in the area of gender in the workplace. These books include Fair Share: How Men and Women Can Create a More Equitable Workplace Together (June 2026 with Brad Johnson), Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace (October 2020 with Brad Johnson) and Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women (September 2016 with Brad Johnson).
David is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and his work has also been featured in ABC News – Good Morning America, Chief, Fast Company, Female Quotient, Financial Times, Forbes, Globe and Mail, Inc., Kiplinger, Los Angeles Times, Management Today, MarketWatch, McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org, MedPage Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Reuters, Rutgers Business Review, SHRM, theSkimm, and The Wall Street Journal, He speaks around the globe on the topics of allyship, leadership and gender and workplace relationships.
Workplace Allies
Gender-in-the-workplace experts David G. Smith, PhD and W. Brad Johnson, PhD show why and how men have a crucial role to play in promoting gender equality at work. A sociologist and a clinical psychologist, they are professors and former naval officers with a mission to help men become more effective allies, accomplices, mentors, and collaborators with women to create a more inclusive workplace.
Learn more about David’s work with Workplace Allies
David has worked with some of the worlds top brands
