Rutgers Business School has announced the launch of a new Centre for Women in Business. Founded by Lisa Kaplowitz, Professor of Professional Practice in Finance, and Sangeeta Rao, Assistant Dean of Mentoring, the new research centre will bring together alumni, faculty and students to develop women business leaders and influence best practices in the business world.
The Rutgers professors hope to leverage the new centre’s academic research with the expertise of corporate partners to address workplace issues, such as the gender wage gap. As well as tackling issues such as gender inequity, the new centre aims to provide opportunities to empower working women and develop female business leaders at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
“Study after study has demonstrated that women are not equally compensated or represented at any level of business,” commented Kaplowitz. “We are really excited about the prospect of combining the talent of our alumni, faculty and students to remove barriers and empower women to lead in a continuously evolving workforce.”
BIGGER & BOLDER IMPACT
The new centre will build on Rutgers Business School and Rutgers University’s existing efforts to help more women, both students and alumnae, in ‘bigger and bolder’ ways through mentoring, workshops, scholarships and conferences.
RESEARCH TOPICS
Marketing Professor Kristina Durante will lead the research initiatives in an effort to promote gender equity, influence business practices and foster women’s leadership and entrepreneurship. “The research will really form the foundational part of the centre,” stated Durante. “We need the research to build the knowledge that will be the basis of conferences and workshops and will guide best practices in the workplace.”
Some research topics that Durante plans to examine include:
- How participation in youth sports influences women’s risk-taking and perseverance.
- How non-conscious biases lead to same gender favouritism in the workplace.
- The critical role of male mentors in women’s business success.
AMBITIOUS MISSION
The centre’s ‘ambitious’ mission has attracted strong support from Rutgers Business School Dean Lei Lei, faculty, students, as well as alumni and friends from across the region’s business community. A 13-member advisory board, composed of alumni and other business professionals, will help guide the centre’s efforts.
Adam Feigenbaum, Executive at iCIMS, who sits on the advisory board, said he and other board members are excited about the potential of the centre to make real change. “We’re interested and invested in helping the women from Rutgers Business School get better opportunities,” Feigenbaum stated. “The idea of fundamentally changing the way employers are thinking about diversity and inclusion in their businesses through research is also very exciting.”
“We are partnering together to use the experience in business to fuel research and professional development in order to create best practices in corporations,” added Kaplowitz. “At the same time, we are bringing all of this, including our alumni’s professional expertise, back to our students to create a broader and deeper pipeline of talent and a continuous feedback loop for all of us.”
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