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Too many news stories on the lack of women in leadership roles...

November 20th New York Times Magazine
Over the last couple of weeks the news seems to be dominated by articles focused on the dearth of women leaders in business. 

The cover story of the November 20th New York Times Magazine highlighted the gender imbalance of women executives and filmmakers in Hollywood.  

A December 1st article discussed the paradox of how the high end fashion industry is dominated by male executives despite the fact women make 85% of their high end purchases. 

On December 7th CNN reported Japan slashing its target for women in senior positions as a way to boost its economy.  “Even with monetary incentives, companies appear to be reluctant to support women”.  Japan may use new legislation to mandate large companies as well as their government to set numerical targets for hiring and promoting women. 

How is this still possible as we approach 2016?  In 2014 women represented 45% of the S & P 500 workforce yet held only 14.2% of the top five leadership positions at these companies and less that 20% of the board seats.  Yet the research indicates women in key leadership roles boosts a company’s bottom line.


Within any organization there needs to be both a strong pipeline of women talent as well as internal support from top management to champion the issue of women’s leadership.  This is a global issue, but locally the Manhattanville School of Business offers women and the companies they work for solutions to address these challenges.  

    1)   Earning leadership credentials- at many major corporations’ master’s degrees have become the de-facto credential for leadership positions.  The Manhattanville School of Business offers 6 specialized Master of Science Business degrees including a unique M.S in Business Leadership.  These specialized graduate degrees, taught by industry professionals, in work friendly schedules, are highly valued by businesses.  We also offer 5 Adult Undergraduate degrees and several dual (Bachelor's//Master's).  Classes become hubs of networking  and the lessons learned can be applied immediately to the workplace.   

2  2) Companies need to commit to organizational change by supporting the Women’s LeadershipInstitute (WLI).  WLI’s mission is to offer a comprehensive array of programs, mentoring, coaching and training for women to realize their presence in the executive suite.  The Lead with Distinction Certificate Program prepares women to overcome business and leadership challenges and develop a strategic approach to address this challenge.  Enroll your women leaders, attend an event or sponsor the institute. 
      
      For more information on degree programs and our Women’s Leadership Institute see mville.edu/business or email me at: jean.mann@mville.edu.  







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