The End the Gap Initiative, launched in February 2017, aims to create gender parity across all CU business programs by the year 2020. The initiative is designed to encourage more women to pursue undergraduate and graduate business degrees. The campaign works to shift the conversation around gender in the business field – closing the gap in business education and ultimately in the C-suite.

Why Does Gender Parity Matter?

Key Findings (McKinsey and Company. Women Matter: Ten Years of Insights on Gender Diversity, 2017).Ìý

  • Globally, women generate 37 percent of global GDP despite accounting for 50 percent of the global working-age population.
  • 240 million workers would be added to the world’s labor force in 2025 by closing the gender gap in the economy
  • Closing the gender gap in education improvesÌýwomen's chances of making it to the top

Visit: to read the whole report.

Why Choose Leeds?

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Programs for Prospective Undergraduate Students

Women in Business Leadership Day:ÌýThis full-day program provides high school women with the exclusive opportunity to interact with and learn from accomplished female faculty, staff, and corporate executives while engaging in hands-on activities to explore career paths in business.

Women in Business Case Competition:ÌýWe invite interested students to bring their knowledge,Ìýskills, and creativity to compete in a two-day case competition with women high school students from across Colorado for the opportunity to win a scholarship to the Leeds School of Business.Ìý

The New Face of Business:ÌýAn event forÌýadmitted women to meet the Dean, members of the Leeds Board and Women’s Council, Leeds women faculty, staff and students for an evening networking reception to connect with business leaders. Invite Only.

Programs for Prospective Graduate Students

End the Gap 2020 Recruitment Event for Women:ÌýWe encourage you to join us for the opportunity to engage and network with Leeds Women’s Council members,Ìýalumni, faculty and staff -ÌýandÌýhear first-hand why MBA and MS students chose Leeds for their graduate degrees.Ìý for an upcoming event.

Women in Business Club (MBA):Ìý Student-run organization that works to build an inclusive community that supports and enables women by fostering a network and furthering gender equality. The Women in Business Club offeres a variety of opportunities for graduate women, including professional development events andÌýmentorship programs.Ìý

Women in the Workplace 2017Ìý

Women in the Workplace is an ongoing, comprehensive study conducted annually by McKinsey and Company and LeanIn.Org. The study examinesÌýthe state of women in corporate America, gathering information about the talent pipeline, company policies, and employee experiences to develop recommendations for how companies can get closer to gender equality.Ìý

Key Findings (McKinsey and Company. Women in the Workplace, 2017).Ìý

  • The bar for gender equality is too low: Nearly 50 percent of men think women are well represented in leadership in companies where only one in ten senior leaders is a woman. A much smaller but still significant number of women agree: one-third think women are well represented when they see one in ten in leadership.

  • Women hit the glass ceiling early: At the first critical step up to manager, women are 18 percent less likely to be promoted than their male peers. This gender disparity has a dramatic effect on the representation of women: if entry-level women were promoted at the same rate as their male peers, the number of women at the SVP and C-suite levels would more than double.

  • Men are more likely to say they get what they want without having to ask: Women of all races and ethnicities negotiate for raises and promotions at rates comparable to their male counterparts. However, men are more likely to say they have not asked for a raise because they are already well compensated or a promotion because they are already in the right role.

  • Women get less of the support that advances careers: Women are less likely to receive advice from managers and senior leaders on how to advance, and employees who do are more likely to say they’ve been promoted in the last two years. Similarly, women are less likely to interact regularly with senior leaders, yet employees who do are more likely to aspire to be top executives.

  • Women are less optimistic they can reach the top: Women are less likely than men to aspire to be a top executive, and those who do are significantly less likely than men to think they’ll become one. However, when you look at ambition by race and ethnicity, both women and men of color are more interested in becoming a top executive than white women and men.

Visit: to read theÌýfull report.Ìý

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