Mays Women’s Leadership Conference Inspiring Female Business Leaders

This October, the Texas A&M University – Mays Business School will host the semi-annual Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) conference, helping boost women in business and in leadership roles.

Now in its eighth year, the WLI is a one-day leadership conference focusing on issues relating to women in leadership. This year, the conference theme will particularly focus on “Strategies for Navigating the Path to Executive Leadership.” The conference will include opportunities for networking, a luncheon and panel discussion, dialogues, and a keynote address by Col. Kimberly D. Olson, one of the first generation of female military pilots in the United States Air Force.

The focus of this year’s conference on Executive Leadership is a response to national statistics which show a disheartening under-representation of women in executive positions. Although 50 percent of all undergraduate degrees and 30 percent of MBA graduates in the U.S. were women as recently as 2014, less than 5 percent of Fortune 500 firms are actually led by women.

Annie McGowan, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at Mays, says the goal of the WLI is to use the collective power and knowledge of the university—including the school’s world-class faculty, the Mays Center for Executive Development, and the broader Aggie Network—to create more opportunities for ambitious women in business.

“WLI is a great example of our mission to develop the Mays Transformational Leader: Responsible, ethical leaders with entrepreneurial mindsets and vision, who have strong business competencies and personify selfless service,” Mays Dean Eli Jones said in an event press release.

The conference is open to the public and will take place at the Memorial Student Center Bethancourt Ballroom at Texas A&M University on Friday, October 20. More information and registration can be found here.

regions: Houston

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