Contact Information:

Center for Women’s Leadership
Babson College
Nichols 100
Babson Park, MA 02457-0310
Phone: 781- 239-5001
Fax: 781-239-5702
Email: cwl@babson.edu

CENTER DESCRIPTION

The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College is dedicated to advancing enterprising women at all stages of their professional development and helping the organizations they work in achieve a competitive advantage through leveraging the talents of an increasingly gender diverse work force.

AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE

Corporations and women; economic and social status of women (entrepreneurship); employment; entrepreneurship and small business development; family; grants and scholarships; institutional transformation; leadership and leadership development; mentoring; work and family.

RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

• Employment

"Navigating a Consumer Marketing Career" panel discussion: A panel featuring consumer marketing careers, which attracted over 180 male and female students to hear four alumnae panelists discuss strategies and tactics on how to break into the consumer marketing field.

“Decisions in My Corporate Career”: An event featuring four highly-successful corporate women and the choices they made throughout their careers.

“Career Strategies: A Woman’s Perspective": A half-day student event focused on a variety of career-related panel presentations including; The Interviewer's Point of View, Executive Presence: The "It" in "She's Got It". Creative Strategies for Success in a Tough Market, Job Transition Success Stories and " How Do You Do It?" Work-Life Balance.

• Entrepreneurship

“Women in Family-Owned Businesses” (August 2003) : This ground-breaking first look at what makes woman-owned family businesses different was led by CWL and sponsored by MassMutual Life Insurance Company. The study compares and contrasts the businesses owned by women versus men. Highlights of the study show that woman-owned family businesses: h ave increased by 37% in the last five years, to 15.6% across the U.S; tend toward higher rates of productivity as well as philanthropy ; a nticipate a positive future for their companies (by a two-to-one ratio among respondents), despite a continued poor economy.

Gatekeepers of Venture Growth: The Role and Participation of Women in the Venture Capital Industry: Women represent less than 10 percent of high-level venture capitalists, and they have been leaving the industry at twice the rate of men, according to a first-ever study released by the Kauffman Foundation at the Small Business Administration’s entrepreneurship conference in Washington , DC . The study, Gatekeepers of Venture Growth , is the latest report of the Diana Project, a multi-year, multi-university study of women business owners and business growth opportunities. The research, coauthored by Undergraduate Dean Patricia Greene, ultimately seeks to determine whether having more women in decision-making roles in the venture capital industry would provide greater access to women entrepreneurs who seek funding.

The Top Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts : 2002 Results (November 2003): Research on over 225 woman-led businesses shows these firms leading the economic recovery:

• Revenues among the Top 100 woman-led businesses in the state exceeded $6.5 billion in 2002, with permanent employment of over 32,300 people.
• Woman-led businesses continue to thrive in professional services, high technology, and construction, industries that drive economic development.
• Growth at woman-led businesses has outpaced the general economy

“Women Building Businesses”: a co-sponsored event with the Babson Entrepreneurial Exchange that brought dynamic female entrepreneurs to campus who discussed their journey and growing ventures.

• Grants and Scholarships

The Center sponsors the Women’s Leadership Program for high-potential women in Babson’s top-ranked undergraduate and MBA programs. Women’s Leadership students receive enriched mentoring and learning opportunities designed to enhance their leadership skills and career readiness. Women accepted into the program at the point of admission to Babson College are also supported through a scholarship award.

• Institutional Change

"Women Leading Change" Conference: A full-day conference focused on providing attendees with the tools they need to drive change, shape change, and lead change in their personal and business worlds.

• Work and Family

“Both Sides of Work and Family”: A panel discussion with dual career couples on how they have achieved work/life balance.

PUBLICATIONS

CWL Newsletter: This monthly newsletter is available for online subscription at http://www.babson.edu/cwl/newsletter. It includes information about upcoming events, research, and Center news.

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Last updated on June 28, 2004.
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