Advancing Women in Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Policy:
Symposium & Keynote

FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2019

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPLEX
805 COLUMBUS AVENUE | BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

8:30am–6:00pm

The goal of this symposium was to examine the current state of women’s advancement in three disciplines: leadership, entrepreneurship, and policy. Although women have made great strides in each of these areas, they continue to face barriers with respect to raising capital for venture creation, gender and pay equity, gender bias and harassment, breaking glass ceilings, and having a voice in organizational and policy decisions. Together, we explored current research that examines women’s career equality and growth within each of these domains, while discussing avenues for future research, practical implications, and policy provisions. The research presented drew important insights from scholarship that will help inform both practice and policy.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

BRIDGET VAN KRALINGEN, PNT’20

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
GLOBAL INDUSTRIES, CLIENTS, PLATFORMS & BLOCKCHAIN
IBM

Bridget van Kralingen leads a business unit that conceives, develops, and scales disruptive software cloud platforms for specific industries; opens new markets for the Watson artificial intelligence platform; and has established IBM as the clear leader in the emerging market for blockchain.

READ HER FULL BIO

Bridget van Kralingen
Senior Vice President
Global Industries, Clients, Platforms & Blockchain

Bridget van Kralingen leads a business unit that conceives, develops, and scales disruptive software cloud platforms for specific industries; opens new markets for the Watson artificial intelligence platform; and has established IBM as the clear leader in the emerging market for blockchain.

In addition, she leads IBM’s top client segment, global enterprises that represent a significant portion of IBM’s annual revenues. She is accountable for IBM’s global industries – strategy, research, solution development and industry talent. Bridget leads the company-wide mission for blockchain, spanning R&D, solutions, platforms and services – a business unit recognized as the leading enterprise blockchain provider.

Bridget is also responsible for IBM’s global strategic partnerships and alliances with industry leaders such as Apple, SAP, Workday and Salesforce.

Prior to this appointment, Bridget was Senior Vice President of IBM’s Global Business Services, a $17B consulting business with 150,000 professionals. She was responsible for the strategy, execution, and business results for consulting, systems integration, digital agency, business process outsourcing, and application management services. Previously, Bridget was General Manager, IBM North America, responsible for revenue, profit, and client satisfaction for IBM’s business in the United States and Canada. Before that, she led Global Business Services in Northeast Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Bridget brings more than 20 years of business experience to her current role. She joined IBM in April 2004 as global Managing Partner of the Financial Services Sector, following her tenure at Deloitte Consulting, where she was Managing Partner of the Financial Services Sector.

Since 2011, Bridget has been listed as one of Fortune Magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.” She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Royal Bank of Canada. Bridget began her career as a researcher and trained psychologist at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. She holds a Master of Commerce degree from the University of South Africa and Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Witwatersrand.

EVENT TIMELINE

8:30am
Doors open; registration begins

9:00am
Opening Remarks
Dr. Jamie Ladge
Patrick F. & Helen C. Walsh Research Professor, Management and Organizational Development
Northeastern University

Alicia Sasser Modestino
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs;
Associate Director, Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy
Northeastern University

9:30am–10:45am
Policy Panel
How Policy Impacts Women’s Careers and What Still Needs to Change

11:00am–12:15pm
Leadership Panel
Advancing Women in Leadership Roles: Promoting Gender Equality at Work

12:15pm–1:15pm
Lunch and networking

1:15pm–2:30pm
Entrepreneurship Panel
Gaining Access to Finance: Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face

2:45pm-3:45pm
Interactive workshops

4:00pm–5:00pm
Keynote

5:00pm–6:00pm
Reception and networking

PANEL INFORMATION

PANEL ONE:

How Policy Impacts Women’s Careers: Responding to the #MeToo Movement

1. Economic costs of sexual harassment for employees and employers

2. What employees need to know about their rights

3. Strategies for employers to change the culture of work

4. What is the role for public policy in addressing sexual harassment in the workplace?

POLICY

PANEL MODERATOR:

Alicia Sasser Modestino – Northeastern University
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs;
Associate Director, Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy

PANELISTS:

Rebecca Rausch – Massachusetts State Senator
Leona Barsky – Human Resources Attorney, Consultant, Investigator, Trainer, Mediator
and Arbitrator
Amy Blackstone – Professor of Sociology, University of Maine
Stephanie Holt – Staff Attorney, Legal Victim Rights Law Center
Lisa Burton – Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Tania Del Rio – Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement, City of Boston

PANEL TWO:

Advancing Women in Leadership Roles: Promoting Gender Equality at Work

1. Managing implicit biases and overcoming stereotype threat

2. Promoting and advancing gender equality in the workplace

3. Workforce strategies that reduce inequalities

LEADERSHIP

PANEL MODERATOR:

Dr. Jamie Ladge – Northeastern University
Patrick F. & Helen C. Walsh Research Professor, Management and Organizational Development

PANELISTS:

Dr. Hannah Riley Bowles – Roy E. Larsen Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Management; Co-Director, Women and Public Policy Program; and Chair, Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences Area
Beth Chandler – President and CEO of YW Boston
Jane Moyer – CHRO at Northeastern University
Jai Chanda – Managing Director and Head of Asset Owner Sector Solutions, Americas, at State Street Corporation
Lisa Levey – Founder of GenderWorks

PANEL THREE:

Gaining Access to Finance: Challenges Women Entrepreneurs Face

1. Challenges women entrepreneurs face in gaining access to financing

2. Types of financing and assistance available to help women entrepreneurs

3. What investors look for in a business? How can women improve their odds?

4. Advice for women looking to start a business or grow their business

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

PANEL MODERATOR:

Dr. Kimberly Eddleston – Northeastern University
Schulze Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

PANELISTS:

Dr. Linda Edelman – Professor of Management, Bentley University
Nora Yousif – Vice President, Financial Advisor at RBC Wealth Management
Nancy Brown, MBA’86 – Partner at Oak HC/FT Partners
Marjorie Radlo-Zandi, MBA’83 – Managing Director, VICAM, a Waters Business
Dr. Candida Brush – F.W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, Vice Provost of Global Entrepreneurial Leadership, Babson College
Susan Rittscher – President and CEO of the Center for Women & Enterprise