eSTABLISHING EQUITY IN AMERICA’S BOARDROOMS

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Percentage of women on America’s corporate boards
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Wharton is expanding opportunity from today’s classrooms to tomorrow’s best boardrooms.

For executive women who aspire to serve on corporate boards, opportunities appear promising, but there’s still a long way to go. Most expect companies to hold space for diverse representation, yet current boardroom demographics tell a different story. In addition to women holding just 22% of America’s corporate board seats, 82% of seats gained by women in 2022 were added to company leadership by not replacing a man, and only one out of twenty of the world’s top multinational companies boast board representation of women over 30%.

These ongoing, systemic challenges help explain the need for “Women on Boards: Building Exceptional Leaders,” a groundbreaking course offered by Wharton’s Executive Education program. Its mission includes teaching executive women and their allies on how to best identify emerging professional opportunities, providing extensive guidance on leveraging past experience to guarantee future success and professional prosperity.

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Jill Schildkraut-Katz, WG'93, current president of a business development network for women at Morgan Stanley. (Image: Wharton Magazine)
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“We’re preparing women to seize opportunity. Our program shows participants how to find the best opportunities that are the best fit, ensure they’re noticed by nomination committees, and understand how to best add value to boardroom discussions.”

– Mary-Hunter McDonnell
Bantwal Family Goldman Sachs Presidential Associate Professor
Associate Professor of Management
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Sandra Shpilberg, WG'02, and Erica Dhawan, W'07, discuss empowering women in industry. (Image: Wharton Magazine)

Women on Boards empowers personal and professional journeys. 

With a curriculum crafted by some of Wharton’s brightest educators, Women on Boards offers proven strategies and toolkits that enhances both the resumes and personal brands of its students. The program provides unparalleled access to industry-insider tips, including immediately applicable insights on how the most prominent women in business achieve and measure success in the modern age.

This pedagogical ethos serves as both the why and the how of Women on Boards: to empower, uplift, and educate all who engage.

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