The Hot Mommas™ Project

Welcome to your place in women’s educational history.

The Hot Mommas Project is the world’s largest women’s case study library, providing free online access to stories of diverse female role models and mentors. It is the recipient of a national Coleman Foundation Case Award and is both housed at and included in the mission of the School’s Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE).

The Hot Mommas Project was conceptualized in 2002 and founded in 2005 to fill a gap in the education system: Scalable access to role models, particularly female ones.

Why Role Models and Mentors Matter

Exposure to role models and mentors – even in the form of case studies research shows – increases a specific type of self-confidence of women and girls necessary for success.

If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.

Is self-confidence lower for women and girls, still? Yes.

Believe it or not, it is. While we earn the majority of master’s degrees and PhDs, women and girls tend to do something called “self-limitation” when we have lower confidence. You might have run for senator, but you run for city council. You might have started a business, but you think, “nah, I can’t.” It happens all the time, but less so for men.

Is there a benefit to corporations and economies if we’re successful? Yes.

The research is extensive from the home, to the classroom, to the boardroom, to around the globe. Corporations promoting women to executive positions are more profitable. Nations encouraging female entrepreneurs boost their GDP. The list continues. When women and girls succeed, we all succeed together.

Founder

Kathy Korman Frey is an award-winning entrepreneur, community leader, educator, and curriculum developer. Frey teaches Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, a nationally award-winning course of the George Washington University School of Business.

The Hot Mommas Project takes the stories of women in our lives, and makes those stories teachable. We are a digital democracy welcoming people of all religions, races, educational backgrounds and income levels. Our resulting educational tools improve confidence in Gen X and Gen Y women up 66% in three hours — 200% in a semester. Learn more at our research site, our main site, and by following us on Twitter, @HotMommasProj.