Lack of training in effective management techniques is often a barrier for women who wish to develop their own businesses. The challenge is even greater in developing countries, where management education is in short supply and women in general have fewer opportunities for advancement.
Goldman Sachs, a leading global financial services firm, believes that expanding the entrepreneurial talent and managerial pool globally—especially among women—is one of the most important means to reducing inequality and ensuring more shared economic growth. To this end, the firm has launched the 10,000 Women initiative, a five-year program with two primary goals:
- increase the number of underserved women receiving a business and management education
- improve the quality and capacity of business and management education around the world
The program was launched in March 2008 and is currently active in 16 countries around the world including Brazil, the United States, India, Afghanistan, and Rwanda. LASPAU and the Tecnológico de Monterrey (Tec) partnered with Goldman Sachs to expand the initiative in Latin America. Through the partnership, LASPAU and the Tec will create and implement a certificate program in Mexico for underserved women entrepreneurs and a faculty development program for two business schools in Mexico or Central America.
The 10,000 Women Business Training Program
The certificate program is being developed by the Tec, which has been a close partner of LASPAU over the past decade. Since 1985, the Tec has offered programs aimed at enhancing entrepreneurship in the business community. For the 10,000 Women pilot program, the Tec will lead the certificate training, mentoring, and follow- up for 100 women entrepreneurs from Mexico and Central America.
Participants will be selected through a transparent process that considers the financial need of each applicant as well as the growth potential of her business. Program grantees can receive their training through either onsite or online coursework. All grantees will also participate in the Tec’s business incubator program.
Women who study at a Tec campus in Monterrey, Guadalajara, or Mexico City will gain in-depth knowledge as well as hands-on training. Certificates offered through the onsite program include Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness, Strategic Sales Management, and Development of Executive Competencies, among others. Studies are supported through team exercises and ongoing advising services.
Women who study online will receive guidance from the Tec on the subjects that best meet their individual needs from among the 78 online courses that they can take from their homes. Through the coursework, each participant will earn a certificate in Finance, Sales, Marketing, Management Skills, Professional Skills, or Productivity and Quality. Students will have ongoing advising and mentoring, as well as access to a wide range of digital materials.
All participants will take part in the Tec’s Business Incubator Network, which provides support for the development of financially viable and self-sufficient businesses. Incubation services are offered both onsite at one of the Tec’s 35 business incubators throughout Mexico and online through the Tec’s virtual portal for business students. The Incubator Network offers assistance with business plan development, links to business opportunities and investment resources, and mentoring in a wide variety of business-related areas. The onsite incubators also offer physical facilities, including meeting rooms and office spaces, where the grantees will have access to computers, printers, and other equipment.
Regardless of the type of training they take, all of the participants will be invited at the end of the program to attend networking events with the goal of fostering ongoing contact and peer support among them.
The 10,000 Women Faculty Development Program
One goal of the 10,000 Women initiative is to upgrade teaching quality in business schools. As part of the pilot project, two business schools in Mexico and Central America will be selected to improve the quality of education they provide to students through IDIA, LASPAU’s initiative for teaching and learning excellence.
For business schools fortified through 10,000 Women, faculty training will be accomplished through a workshop designed to train faculty in the latest interactive teaching and learning methods. These efforts will be supplemented by online resources aimed at reaching the majority of the business faculty at each university. LASPAU will work with Goldman Sachs and with the Tec to establish criteria for the selection of the two pilot schools.
In order to facilitate the process of institution-wide development, a “train the trainer” approach will be employed. Twenty faculty members will be selected from each school based on the quality of their teaching and their interest in improvement. These 40 professors will then participate in a workshop in Cambridge, where they will gain knowledge from experts in effective teaching and learning. When this group returns home, they will be able to assist their fellow faculty members in accessing online resources and in the practical application of the tools and techniques they have acquired.
Depending on the needs and existing capabilities of the business schools selected, LASPAU will draw on a variety of online resources to complement the face-to-face training. These include the online resource database of the CDIO™ Initiative, a competency- based curricular reform effort developed at MIT; the Harvard Business School online program Participant Centered Learning and the Case Method; and the Teaching and Learning Body of Knowledge (TALBOK™), an online interactive learning system composed of seven modules, each focused on a specific area pertinent to the development of more effective teaching and learning.
Through the activities listed above, the business school faculty will gain knowledge of innovative tools and techniques that will improve the quality of the education they offer. Female students will benefit from an improved educational program that will strengthen their capacity to successfully perform in the business world.
For more information, please visit www. 10000women.org or contact Angelica Natera at angelica_natera@harvard.edu or 617-495-0488.
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