Joan Williams, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and the founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law, has studied workplace discrimination for more than 20 years. Her new book, “What Works for Women at Work,” documents patterns of gender bias and gives women individual strategies for getting ahead.

Q: What got you interested in issues related to women in the workplace?

A: I had a baby. And after I had a baby, I found it so hard to balance work and family that I actually seriously considered quitting after I had my second child. And during a period when I was actually listed as one of the most prolific law professors in the country. And I thought, wow, if I can't do this, it's not possible.