Deborah Widiss

Deborah Widiss is Professor of Law and John F. Kimberling Chair at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she has been a faculty member since 2009. She previously served as associate dean for research and faculty affairs from 2019 to 2024.

Widiss earned her B.A. from Yale University in 1994 and her J.D. from Yale University in 1999. Before transitioning to academia, she worked as an attorney at Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), where she focused on the intersection between domestic violence and employment. She also clerked for Judge Allyne R. Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Her research and teaching focuses on employment law, family law, statutory interpretation, and the significance of gender and gender stereotypes in legal development. Widiss has published extensively in top law journals including the Boston University Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, Minnesota Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, Texas Law Review, and University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

Her scholarly work reveals a consistent focus on gender discrimination in employment, particularly regarding pregnancy accommodation, menstruation, and parental leave policies. She has conducted comparative research on family leave policies across the United States and Australia, examining how seemingly gender-neutral policies often perpetuate gender disparities.

• Paul Miller Memorial Award (2024)
• Fulbright Senior Scholar grant (2018)
• AALS Outstanding Scholarly Paper Award
• Two Dukeminier Awards
• Feldman Award
• Two Indiana University Trustees' Teaching awards

Widiss has served as Chair of the AALS Employment Discrimination Section and as a member of the executive committee of the AALS Legislation Section. She is frequently quoted in major media outlets including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Washington Post, and has published opinion pieces in The Atlantic, The Conversation, and Huffington Post.