New Center Turns Talk into Action

Change is simmering in executive suites across the United States. Senior managers and board members are increasingly eager to close the gender gap – that chasm between the number of males and females who occupy the upper reaches of the organizational chart.

This rising impulse to recruit, retain and promote more women “isn’t about being nice,” notes Betsy Myers (pictured), founding director of Bentley’s Center for Women and Business. “More executives simply realize that having higher numbers of women leaders directly benefits the bottom line.”

The Center for Women and Business launched in April 2011, powered by close to $5 million in gifts from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and individual donors. It has merged with the Women’s Leadership Institute at Bentley and aims to be the go-to resource for organizations seeking gender parity at the top.

Leaky Pipelines

As Myers notes, a number of studies show that companies with more women in leadership positions outperform their competitors. Consider one report out of Pepperdine University in the early 2000s, which tracked the balance sheet of 215 Fortune 500 companies. Organizations with the largest percentage of women executives enjoyed revenues far above the median for other similarly sized companies in their sectors.

“Companies with leadership teams that reflect the diversity of their customers better understand the needs of those customers, and therefore they perform better,” explains Myers, a senior adviser on women’s issues to President Bill Clinton and COO for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Her résumé also includes posts as executive director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and as director of the Office of Women’s Business Ownership with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Work to change the gender mix has spurred significant advances over the past several decades. But, still, few women stand at the corporate helm. A recent study by nonprofit organization Catalyst found only 12 female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies.

In today’s marketplace, including women in leadership positions is an economic imperative. In 1970, women represented 43 percent of the labor pool. That figure now stands at roughly 50 percent. Projections of labor market expansion through 2018 show women accounting for more than half the increase.

“Corporate leaders don’t want to lose all that brain power,” says Myers, while noting that attempts to address the situation have fallen short of goals. “Companies invest millions of dollars in women employees, but then see them leave for many reasons – one of which is not ‘feeling’ supported.”

Model Leadership

As recruiting and retaining women stays at the top of corporate to-do lists, President Gloria Cordes Larson gathered allies and resources to create the Center for Women and Business. Its mission: advance a model of shared business leadership among women and men, and develop and retain women leaders at every stage of their career.

“We’re at a pivotal crossroads,” observes Larson, herself the first woman to lead Bentley. “The corporate world now recognizes the need to offer young women the same opportunities long provided for young men as they progressed through the ranks.”

The $1 million gift from PwC joins commitments totaling $3.5 million from individuals with Bentley ties: Jack and Pamela Cumming, parents of two current students; Steven ’73 and Christine (Smith) ’73 Manfredi; and Frances Gonzales, widow of Edward C. ’50 and grandmother of three former and current students.

Bob Moritz, U.S. chairman and senior partner at PwC, cites a recent survey by the company, where an overwhelming number of the CEOs identified finding and keeping talent as a critical driver of long-term success.

“Since women comprise nearly half that talent pool, the competitive advantage will go to companies that understand how to cultivate diversity,” says Moritz. “That’s why PwC is so pleased to collaborate with Bentley University to accelerate the advancement of women leaders.”

The center is taking a two-pronged approach to reach the goal of a gender-equitable corporate nation, according to Myers. Targeted programs will cultivate skills that women need to ascend the ranks, while research and other initiatives offer tools to help school organizations in becoming places where women want to work and grow their career.

Bold Vision

The center’s bold vision rests on shared leadership by men and women executives.

“There’s general recognition that women’s programs have been off to the side, and that we can only make changes when the top guys are involved,” says Myers. “So we’re starting off with an active partnership, working hand in hand with leading decision-makers.”

Building on successful work already underway at Bentley, the Center for Women and Business has merged with the university’s eight-year-old Women’s Leadership Institute. Skill-building and professional development workshops on topics such as effective negotiation and workplace behaviors will continue apace. Plans also call for convening focus groups of alumni, current students, donors and corporate leaders, to determine additional programming.

“The Center for Women and Business takes us from talk to action,” adds Myers. “We’ll foster the diversity of views and experiences that creates value and spurs growth in leading organizations of all kinds. As our programs develop, the center will offer a venue where women and men can come to the table in a spirit of shared, collaborative leadership that produces the results the business world needs.”