Leveraging Women’s Networks for Strategic Value
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, and Anne Donnellon, Associate Professor and co-founder of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

The journal of Strategy and Leadership recently published (May/June 2009 Vol. 37, No. 3) findings by Babson professors Anne Donnellon and Nan Langowitz on corporate women’s networks. “Corporate women’s networks have existed for more than 25 years, with varying results. This study aims to provide new ways to assess and enhance the strategic value of women’s networks in terms of both talent and business development.”  more>>>

To Fill the Pipeline, Change the Frame
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

For years we’ve thought about the issue of women’s advancement in business as a pipeline question. Once there were enough women in the organizational pipelines of companies, we would see women advance in large numbers to the ranks of business leadership. The theory was that a tipping point would eventually come, at which time there would be enough critical mass of women in the business world that many of the age-old questions about possible gender difference would simply go away.  more>>>

Does Your Company Have a “Jane Drain”
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

Companies have become increasingly frustrated by the departure of talented women managers and leaders from their organizations. According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, conducted for the Center for Work-Life Policy, just over one-third of highly qualified professional women (37%) step out of the workforce; at a rate nearly 1.5 times that of men (24%). But these statistics don’t tell the whole story. While the above statistics point to an incremental loss of talent by gender, they don’t account for the departures that deposit that talent in another firm rather than out of the workforce altogether. The incremental departure of women professionals from organizations (versus the departure rate of men) constitutes what I’d call a “Jane Drain.” It doesn’t matter where they go; it could be to a competitor firm, to another avocation, to start their own businesses, etc. If women leave your firm at a faster rate than men do, you’ve got a “Jane Drain” and a loss of talent your company can ill afford.  more>>>

Taking a Cue from Successful Women CEOs
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

The glass is more than half-full when it comes to the talent of women in business. While corporations worry about how to keep women in their leadership pipelines, they might do well to take a cue from the women who are running businesses for answers.

The most recent study of woman-led businesses found that women CEOS are successfully combining the pursuit of professional goals, value creation, and personal achievement. The 2003 Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts survey of more than 250 women chief executives found a rich pool of leadership role models. These women CEOs lead firms generating more than $7.5 billion in revenues across an array of industries; from high tech to apparel, from construction to office products, from professional services to manufacturing.  more>>>

The Myths and Realities of Women Entrepreneurs
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

Quick, think of an entrepreneur! Did you think of Michael Dell or Sam Walton or Ben and Jerry? But what about Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) or Sandy Lerner (Cisco) or Kay Koplovitz (USA Networks)? In three separate studies of women entrepreneurs I’ve conducted over the past few years, we’ve learned a good deal more than what the business press imparts. In a research study completed last year, we studied the coverage of women entrepreneurs in the business press. The most immediate finding was that coverage is extremely low. Indeed, other scholars have coined the phrase “the invisible entrepreneurs” to describe media coverage of women business founders and their companies.  more>>>

Adding to the Mix of Business Role Models
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

Although women now make up half of the managerial workforce in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of women in the senior ranks of major U.S. corporations and on their boards reported by Catalyst remains low, at less than 15%. Yet leaders set the tone and change perspective for those in their organizations as well as those in the greater business community. With so few women in corporate leadership positions, where can we look to change the mix of business role models for younger women, and men, in business? more >>>

Women Entrepreneurs: Perception And Reality
Nan S. Langowitz, Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, Babson College

It has often been said that women have to work harder to succeed in the business world. For women entrepreneurs, overcoming false assumptions is a real contributor to the uphill climb. Women entrepreneurs are up against a number of myths about their breed, and because these perceptions cloud reality, they often find it harder to be taken seriously by investors, lenders, and potential business partners.  more>>>