The Harriet Taylor Mill Institute aims to make women visible as actors and wants to illuminate gender dimensions in scientific research and practice. In the early years, the institute mainly focused on economic issues. Since 2011, a second focus lies on "Gender in Law and Administration" in order to promote critical research on legal effects on gender relations and the (re-)production of inequalities.

The institute is committed to link gender relations and economics as well as law and administration. Gained insights are being transferred back into teaching, the scientific community, and the interested public. The main activities consist of third-party funded research projects and publications, integrating gender issues into the curriculum at Berlin School of Economics and Law, and hosting events to promote exchange between scholars and practitioners, business and universities, and all interested actors.