#TippieWomen Summit to focus on improving Iowa rate of women in executive business positions

Iowa women hold 25 percent of executive positions in private-for-profit businesses, according to the 2015 SHE Matters report from the Iowa Women's Leadership Project.

The upcoming #TippieWomen Summit plans to address the disparity by bringing successful business women together for a day-long conference.

The Undergraduate Women in Business Organization has hosted a similar event in past years, involving fewer speakers and a mainly female audience. This year the summit is co-hosted by Women in Business, the MBA Association and the Tippie College of Business.

The collaboration of these organizations has made for an extensive events program of high-profile speakers and meaningful discusssion. It will also be completely open to the public, men and women alike.

'This is a multi-faceted issue, and we want a multi-faceted approach,” said MBA Association President Lisa Ferguson on broadening the summit's reach.

The summit will feature keynote speaker Sheri Salata, president of the Oprah Winfrey Network. A Tippie alumna, Salata will discuss aspects of her career path and answer questions from attendees.

The conference also will hear from Matrix IV Chief Strategy Officer Patricia Miller on finding career passion, and Tippie Dean Sarah Fisher Gardial on self-advocacy in regards to leadership.

An alumni panel of four Tippie gradutates will focus on how leadership can take on different forms, ages and job titles.

Ali Rosenberg, president of Women in Business, hopes the panel will demonstrate to attendees that 'leadership doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a CEO.”

'This conference is really important in strengthening the role of women in business,” said Lisa Ferguson, president of the Masters in Business Association. 'It's part of a larger conversation with the entire country about how to get more women into business.”

The summit is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18 at the hotelVetro in Iowa City. It is open to the public.

Admission is free for Women in Business and MBA Association members and $10 for nonmembers. The deadline to register online is 5 p.m. Monday, April 13.