Images have a powerful effect on people -- and that's important to consider when nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Just seeing a photo of an influential woman can have tangible effects on girls' behavior, Iris Bohnet, a public policy professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, told HuffPost's Caroline Modaressy-Tehrani at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"By exposing young girls to, for example, an image of Hillary Clinton or Angela Merkel, or another female leader, they then give more powerful speeches," Bohnet said.

Bohnet encouraged leaders to consider the impact their offices might have on young people.

"Think of the portraits on our walls," she said. "Are these of male leaders only, or is this a diverse set of leaders?"

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