Nurturing leaders: Examining the impact of collegiate women in business organizations

To encourage women to successfully navigate business school and increase the number of women leading organizations including the nation’s largest accounting firms, several colleges have developed Collegiate Women in Business (CWIB) organizations. These organizations encourage empowerment, professional development, and collegiality. Based upon Astin’s student involvement theory, we conduct a case study to explore the impact of CWIB organizations on participants’ confidence and perceived professional goals.

We find mixed results. In general, CWIB involvement is more likely to be associated with perceived professional goals but not student confidence. Results indicate that participants who were involved in CWIB were more likely to find that the program increased their sense of empowerment and belonging in the business college than non-CWIB participants. Further, CWIB participants were more likely to believe that their highest employment goal they can realistically achieve is at the executive level and that they can succeed in obtaining a mentor. Finally, CWIB participants are more likely to indicate that they plan to leave a full-time job for a limited time and then return to work force when raising children compared to non-CWIB female business students. Our research provides evidence on how institutions can adapt to meet the needs of increasingly diverse students.