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INSEAD iW50 Summit Highlights
On 28 June 2018, INSEAD alumni, faculty, students, staff and friends joined us on our Fontainebleau campus to celebrate the culmination of an exciting year of iW50. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first women to graduate from our MBA program, and throughout the year iW50 recognized 50 years of women at INSEAD and brought greater attention to gender balance issues. The one-day Summit featured a distinguished lineup of speakers and events, as well as a diverse audience committed to improving gender parity. We would like to thank the speakers, the sponsors and all the attendees that made the iW50 Summit such a success. We also want to thank INSEAD women for your enduring leadership. We look forward to championing gender equality and diversity for years to come.
Our history
50 years of women at INSEAD
In 1967, INSEAD became one of the first business schools in the world to admit women to its MBA programme when it welcomed Hélène Ploix MBA’68 and Solange Perret MBA’68 to the Fontainebleau campus.
By doing so, INSEAD effectively departed from the traditional business school model - as business schools were largely exclusive to men - and made a strong statement about gender parity in education. Both women went on to become highly successful leaders in finance and international business, respectively, paving the way for future generations of women at INSEAD.
To honour this 50-year milestone, the school is launching iW50 at INSEAD, a year-long celebration in which we will honour the past, present and future of women at INSEAD, while also reaffirming a commitment—held equally by men and women at INSEAD—to equip women for success at every career stage and in every organisation.
We have a three-pronged vision for iW50:
- Celebrate our history
Convene our community of men and women to honour the past and present of women at INSEAD.
- Build our legacy
Establish a foundation on which we can reinforce INSEAD’s dedication to supporting and sustaining the professional achievements of women.
- Empower INSEAD Women
Advance women in leadership roles and empower women to be a force for good in business and society.
Taking action
Transforming vision into reality
Our goals for this academic year and beyond include:
- Increase the representation of women among our highly qualified students and leaders at INSEAD
- Actively engage men in our efforts to support the professional advancement of women
- Fund scholarships for female students and future leaders
- Increase global awareness of INSEAD alumnae through stories and videos
- Develop and disseminate research and knowledge about women in business
- Lead targeted research exploring specific challenges women face in business and solutions to those challenges
- Develop the community of INSEAD scholars focused on gender issues
- Increase the number of INSEAD cases with female protagonists
- Connect alumni to INSEAD through iW50 events
- Engage and educate the INSEAD community and broader network about iW50 and the INSEAD Gender Initiative
Timeline
for key events
