Fordham Gabelli Dean: Companies Need More Women Leaders
The dean of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business says the pace of change is too slow when it comes to getting more women into top business leadership roles.
Dean Donna M. Rapaccioli wrote about the value of women in the workplace for the newsletter of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).
“Corporate America still is plagued by what we might call ‘second-generation gender bias’ — workplace policies and cultures that affect men and women differently,” Rapaccioli writes.
The implications of the leadership gap between men and women are far-reaching, she argues, citing research that shows how women leaders help a company’s performance.
Rapaccioli believes that one way to create change is highlighting what women bring to the workplace.
“Female leadership is creative,” she writes. “It is energetic and empathetic. Its form of problem-solving thrives on discussion and weaves in collaboration. In today’s complex, changing world, that is just what is needed.”
Rapaccioli joined Fordham in 1987 and was appointed dean in February of this year. She has helped drive the unification of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business and Graduate School of Business Administration into a single school. Her research interests are earnings management and international accounting.
“I have sought to create a balance of both female and male leadership in our business school, and have encouraged our undergraduate and graduate students of all genders and backgrounds to seek their place at the top,” Rapaccioli writes in the GMAC article. “I look forward to creating partnerships with other universities and national organizations that share this vision of accelerating a change for which we’ve waited far too long.”
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About the Author
Sarah Beckham
Sarah is a staff writer, covering London-area MBA news for MetroMBA.
