Dear GWSB Community,
At GWSB we aim to ensure that, for women in business, parity is the floor and there is no ceiling.
Women lead in our school — as students, teachers, researchers, administrators and mentors. As we look back at March and the celebration of Women’s History Month I want to share some insight on how our GWSB community is advancing women in business education and careers.
This year we achieved a rare milestone that we are most proud of: our Global MBA is 57 percent women. We were recognized as number one in the U.S. for women in full-time MBA programs by the Financial Times in their annual Global MBA Top 100. The Forte Foundation, our non-profit partner in promoting the advancement of women in business, also recognized GWSB as their only business school partner with more than 50 percent women in a full-time MBA program. Across our graduate enrollment, women make up more than 50 percent. We are so close with our undergraduate class as well. This year women in our undergraduate programs reached 49.6 percent, with the percentage of women enrolled growing 21 percent over the last six years. In addition, many of our undergraduate and graduate student organizations are led by women.
Of course, we must sustain and build on the progress we have made in all these areas where we have clearly derived the benefit of women in leadership. We must continue our efforts around gender equity within GWSB to build on women’s representation in leadership and administrative positions within the school. And, of course, there is work to do to continue attracting and supporting more women on our faculty in our academic departments.
Our student, faculty and staff leadership have developed research, content and community throughout the year that elevates inspiring leadership and addresses the challenges that women still face in management, entrepreneurship and in everyday life. I want to share a few highlights:
- Ama Appiah and Lexi Young, GWSB MBA students, were featured in “Four MBA students on why they went back to school” for the March issue of the Future of Business and Tech focused issue on women in business.
- Kathy Korman Frey, Professorial Lecturer in Management, chaired The Women’s Entrepreneurship Leadership Conference presented in partnership with the International Council for Small Business. The conference had more than 500 registrants motivated to connect with women CEOs and industry leaders. If you missed it, the conference videos are available.
- Annamaria Lusardi, University Professor of Economics & Accountancy; Academic Director, Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) released the new report “Fearless Woman: Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation” which was featured in the Financial Times on International Women’s Day and in CNBC in the article “Covid stimulus and Gen Z Americans: How the young can save and spend it,. This is one of three recent reports focused on women and financial literacy.
- Vanessa Perry, Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and Professor for Marketing, was the featured interview “Senior Economist and Dean Dedicates Herself to Reversing Systemic Racism in Home Ownership and Intergenerational Wealth Building” with GlobalMindEd in March.
- Andreina Sanchez, Associate Director of Graduate Admissions, was interviewed by EducationUSA Peru in celebration of Women’s History month.
- GW Women in Business (GWWIB) foster development throughout the year for undergraduates — including their upcoming Spring Conference on April 10.
- Kathy Warden, President and CEO of Northrop Grumman was featured in GW Today coverage for her George Talks Business interview on International Women’s Day.
- The Women’s MBA Association hosted Women’s Roundtables in partnership with the Forte Foundation and GW CIBER.
- All George Talks Business interviews in March featured women. In fact, sixty-five percent of our George Talks Business interviews have featured women in business this academic year. Catch up on the March interviews with Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Kathy J. Warden, Tiffany M. Moore and entrepreneur Madia Brown on the ELEVATE panel.
Additionally, our GWSB Board of Advisors and Corporate Council include women business leaders across various fields from entrepreneurs to C-Suite executives. They augment the student learning experience by sharing their expertise during student organization panels, judging competitions, mentorship and speaking in classrooms. While their leadership is realized throughout the year, as we close out the month let’s take time to recognize all the women of GWSB for their impact in our classrooms and community.
Upcoming Events
- April 6: Real Talk: Women Leaders in Hospitality Panel and Networking Presented by Castell@College & Tourism for Tomorrow: Register to join Castell@College and GWU's Tourism for Tomorrow for Real Talk: Women Leaders in Hospitality Panel and Networking. This is an interactive discussion with a panel of hospitality executives. Panelists will talk career tracks and life choices.
- April 7: George Talks Business: Dr. Ximena Hartsock (GSEHD '04), founder of Tech Apprenticeships, will be our guest. Register to participate and submit questions in advance and stream on GW Business Facebook and YouTube channels.
- April 10: GW Women in Business Spring Conference: Register to participate in this daylong conference for undergraduates begins with a distinguished keynote speaker and fireside chat, and then leads into a series of workshops and industry focused panels. This year we will host our 12th Annual Spring Conference on April 10, 2021.
- April 13: GW Entrepreneurship and Tourism Series: Latoya Lewis, Founder & Exec. Director of EnventU-In Conversation with Prof. Stuart Levy: Latoya Lewis from EnventU will discuss leading an innovative social venture focused on youth career training and creating a pipeline to professions in the events industry. Registration is open.
- April 15: George Talks Business: Christophe G. de Taurines, BBA '86, Senior Advisor and Partner, LongHarbour LTD London, GWSB Dean's Advisory Council will be interviewed. Submit your questions when you register and stream on GW Business Facebook and YouTube channels.
- April 15: New Venture Competition results will be announced. Eighteen of the 36 semifinalist teams include GWSB students. We’re rooting for all our students to advance into the final 12 and go all the way. Learn more about the competition.
- April 23: ESG Webinar Series: A Day in the Life of an Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Manager: Register to learn from Laura Willet as she shares her practical experiences and perspectives on what it takes for a firm to become 'ESG compliant'. Join Laura and Professor John Forrer for a discussion on the role of an ESG Manager.
- April 23: Leadership Council Showcase: This is an opportunity for leaders of the student organizations to come together and celebrate their accomplishments for the past year. The event is sponsored by the undergraduate business association and registration details are forthcoming on the GWSB Event Calendar.
- April 23: Management Consulting Summit: The second annual summit will be held on Friday, April 23. The summit on management consulting is intended to provide a window into the world of management consulting by providing perspectives from the vantage point of consultants, clients and leaders who have championed transformational changes. Open to all GWSB students, registration will be open soon and available on the GWSB Event Calendar soon.
- April 28: Bicentennial Signature Event: Esteemed New York Times journalist, Steve Lohr, will moderate our George Talks Business Responsible Artificial Intelligence panel on April 28 featuring technology experts Ashley Casovan, Gavin Munroe, Alka Patel, and Rajeev Ronanki. Topics will include data privacy, inclusion, and digital equality. A live Q&A will follow the panel discussion, offering our GW community an opportunity to have our questions answered regarding ethics, policy, and other issues surrounding AI answered by industry experts. Mark your calendars and register to participate.
- April 29 - May 2: Stock Pitch Days: 60+ undergraduate and graduate students (portfolio analysts/managers) pitch their buy and sell company recommendation for Student Investment Funds (SIFs). Students can learn more and register to participate.
Finally, it’s our pleasure to share that GW Business commencement celebrations will be held on Thursday, May 13 for the class of 2021. We congratulate all our graduating undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students and wish you luck across your last few weeks as students before advancing to become #GWSBproud alumni.
Stay well and stay strong,
Anuj Mehrotra, Ph.D.
Dean