Tippie program aims to help female MBA students

When it comes to the number of women pursuing a master's in business administration, the University of Iowa realizes its numbers could be better.

So the Tippie College of Business has developed a two-year female leadership program to work as a recruitment tool and support leadership development.

The Kathleen Dore – Henry B. Tippie Women's MBA Leadership Program, which includes mentorship, training and student scholarships, is meant to give 'women what they need to get off on equal footing in the workplace,' said Jennifer Blackhurst, a management sciences professor at UI and director of the program.

The breakdown of female and male students in the business school's undergraduate programs is about 50-50, Blackhurst said. But the percentage of female students pursuing an MBA drops significantly, falling to about 25 percent.

'It's been on our radar for a number of years,' she said. 'But it simply hasn't changed. What we're trying to do is identify what we can do to better prepare women to overcome obstacles.'

Women hold only 4.6 percent of CEO positions at Standard & Poor's 500 companies — with only 23 female chief executives out of 500 companies, according to research group Catalyst.

Here in Iowa, women hold 22 percent of executive positions at publicly held companies, 25 percent in the private sector and 57 percent in the not-for-profit sector, according to a 2015 report by the Iowa Women's Foundation, a Coralville-based group that wants to identify the barriers women face when it comes to leadership.

Women also only make up 16 percent of the members of Iowa's public company boards.

Over the course of the year, women involved in Tippie's new program will learn about negotiating, personal branding and cultivating an authentic leadership style. They also will meet with mentors, including Kathy Dore, for whom the program is named. Dore is a University of Iowa alumna who now works as a senior adviser at Proteus International Inc, a management consulting firm.

Blackhurst said mentors will give a talk to the group at large and then will have small group meetings or one-on-one conversations.

'It also will help them establish a network,' she added.

Meganne Franks, a first year MBA candidate and scholarship recipient, said while many schools have clubs or organizations designed for women in business or hold seminars and conferences, Tippie's program is more comprehensive.

'A lot of time, you don't always absorb the material,' said Franks, who worked in the hotel industry for years doing everything from sales to event planning. 'They come in and talk at you, shake your hand and leave.'

Although this is the program's first year, Franks — who is helping plan events as part of her scholarship requirements — said the college is in it for 'long haul' and plans to track growth.

'It's still in the development stage,' Franks said. 'But (the program) can become whatever we need it to be.'