The Yale-HEC Paris Women’s Leadership Programme has been designed to fulfil the specific challenges of women moving into or already in leadership positions. In doing so, the course will also address a more general pressing business need: to increase the presence of women in senior positions.
Current research shows that companies with gender-diverse management enjoy significantly better financial performance. However, women remain underrepresented in business leadership. In the EU, women are about half of all those employed, and yet they represent only 17% of senior executives, according to Eurostat.
“Time and time again, we are confronted with the benefits of having more women representation at the top. However, time and time again we fail to both promote and train women for leadership,” said Jeremy Ghez, HEC Paris Professor of Economics and International Affairs.
The four-day programme aims to correct this by tackling challenges unique to women leaders—for example, helping the wider business community understand and embrace the benefits of diversity, and developing a career strategy that fulfils both personal and professional objectives.
The programme combines the strengths of two world-leading executive education providers. The Yale School of Management brings globally renowned faculty, revered for their original research on critical leadership issues and commitment to developing change-oriented leaders. Since the inception of the Women’s Leadership Programme in 2016, Yale faculty and staff have consistently delivered a market-relevant programme designed to drive change. Reception of the Women’s Leadership Programme in the US was so enthusiastic that Yale began offering it quarterly to meet demand.
HEC Paris adds the European perspective, making the programme highly tailored and relevant to European women leaders. The school has a longstanding record in promoting female leadership. According to Professor Ghez, “This programme helps us capitalize on the full potential of the HEC Paris ecosystem that has long promoted diversity in the workplace and beyond. We live in a time that calls for novel ideas and radically different models. Gender diversity can’t be just a buzzword in this context.”
Some of the topics addressed during the programme include strengthening cross-cultural communication skills, creating high-performing teams, building effective networks, developing as a thoughtful leader, driving innovation, and creating an authentic leadership style. In addition, the programme provides excellent opportunities to connect with a global network of like-minded women.
“Consistently in this programme, participants are willing to be honest with one another and themselves,” said Emma Seppälä, co-director of the Yale College Emotional Intelligence Project at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Women’s Leadership Programme Faculty Director. “This generosity improves participants’ ability to apply insights from the curriculum to their own lives and develop meaningful relationships with one another that continue well after the course concludes.”
