Expanding opportunities for women at Kellogg and beyond

8/5/2015 - Visiting the White House Wednesday, Aug. 5, Dean Sally Blount ’92 met with senior advisers and several leaders from the business and business school communities to discuss the changing needs of the 21st century workplace.

That workplace must focus on expanding opportunities for women in business through recruitment, training and retention while implementing policies that work for families, according to Blount.

Shortly before the visit, Kellogg announced a record-high percentage of female students — 43 percent — in its incoming Full-Time Class of 2017.

“Over the past few years, we’ve become more focused on what Kellogg can do to attract the best women in the world and meet their needs,” said Blount. “As part of that effort, we’ve emphasized our unique culture that is courageous, driven and supportive, as well as our excellent track record on women in leadership.”

Kellogg was also ranked among the top 10 post-graduate schools to produce female entrepreneurs, according to a recent report from startup data platform Crunchbase. Entrepreneurship has seen a surge in demand at Kellogg over the past several years, sparking the addition of 19 courses and 19 new clinical and adjunct practitioner faculty members with strong ties to the startup and venture capital community.

Evolving Kellogg’s commitment

The White House Council on Women and Girls and the Council of Economic Advisers has released a set of best practices for business schools to expand opportunities for women. These policies offer concrete strategies for business schools to help women succeed throughout school and their careers as well as build a business-school experience that prepares students for the workforce of tomorrow.

More than 45 business schools — including Kellogg — have committed to the new set of practices, which include:

• Ensuring access to business schools and careers 
• Building a business school experience that prepares students for the workplace of tomorrow
• Ensuring career services that go beyond the needs of traditional students
• Exemplifying how organizations should be run. 

“There’s a lot more work to be done,” Blount said. “That’s why we’re pleased to be a part of this important conversation and this shared commitment to building on the role of women in the workforce.”


Related reading:

• Dean Blount on why women should enter business right out of college
• Video: Dean Blount on women in business
• Dean Blount's career advice to young women
• Obama to Kellogg: Business is the future