Meryle Mahrer Kaplan, PhD
Meryle Mahrer Kaplan, PhD, retired from Catalyst at the end of 2016. During her time with Catalyst, she lead activities that focused externally—particularly on Catalyst Supporters—and internally—on Catalyst as an organization. She lead Global Member Services (GMS), which draws from Catalyst’s full knowledge base to foster supporter impact through activities including Consulting Services, Vital Signs, and Speakers Bureau. She also lead the CEO Summit franchise where she shaped dialogues that engaged senior executives within and across companies. Dr. Kaplan also had executive leadership responsibility for Catalyst’s talent and culture. She worked closely with HR leadership and contributed insights and practices to ensure Catalyst’s status as a premier workplace.
Dr. Kaplan has more than 20 years of experience working with large organizations and she served as a trusted advisor and thought partner to highly sophisticated supporters and to those seeking to jumpstart diversity and inclusion efforts. She is an author of The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups and the Making Change: Beyond Flexibility series. She has been involved in Catalyst’s global activities and diverse women initiatives. She was a frequent speaker and served on a number of Catalyst Supporter stakeholder advisory groups focused on diversity and sustainability and on nonprofit boards.
Dr. Kaplan received her BA in Psychology from Douglass College, her MA in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut, and her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, where she taught graduate courses in the psychology of women. She is the recipient of a Woodrow Wilson Research Grant in Women’s Studies, author of Mothers’ Images of Motherhood (Routledge) and co-editor of Representations of Motherhood, an anthology published by Yale University Press.
Meryle Mahrer 's Latest Work
Report: Women and Men in Canadian Capital Markets: An Action Plan for Gender Diversity
This report finds that women continue to struggle to break through the senior leadership ranks in Canadian Capital Markets.
Tool: The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups, 1—Introduction to ERGs
The first tool in the set defines what an ERG is, describes how it can benefit an organization, its members, and employees.
Tool: The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups, 2—Developing ERG Infrastructure: A Step-by-Step Planning Guide
This tool details all the background work and steps necessary for starting an effective ERG.
Tool: The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups, 3—ERG Governance: Leadership Roles and Structure
The third tool in the set details the leadership needs of an ERG.
Tool: The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups, 4—Building Support and Working With Other Constituencies
The fourth tool in the set describes how ERGs can work together with all parts of an organization.
Tool: The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups, 5—Action Planning and Effectiveness Tracking
The fifth tool in the set describes the different types of programs and activities that ERGs can undertake.
Tool: The Catalyst Guide to Employee Resource Groups, 6—Troubleshooting, Membership Issues, Success Factors, and Future Directions
The last tool in the set discusses internal and external challenges that ERGs may face.
Report: Making Change—Beyond Flexibility: Creating Champions for Work-Life Effectiveness
This tool highlights the critical role leaders play in creating WLE culture and describes how they can become WLE champions.
Report: Making Change—Beyond Flexibility: Work-Life Effectiveness as an Organizational Tool for High Performance
This first report in a two-part series explains the framework and concepts of work-life effectiveness (WLE).