Empowering Women: Smith to sponsor international MBA event in DC

Smith will take center stage Oc. 9-11, 2014, when female business leaders and students from around the world gather for the MBA Women International Conference and Career Fair in Washington, D.C.

As a signature sponsor, Smith will recruit keynote speakers and organize panel discussions on women in consulting, marketing and finance. Abigail Zaniel, MBA ’14, who served as president of the Smith Association of Women MBAs until her May graduation, says the event will provide a friendly environment for participants to network, share stories and draw strength from each other.

“Women face special challenges in the workplace,” Zaniel says. “We need opportunities for candid conversations about work-life balance and other issues.”

Current SAWMBA President Jessica Ferraioli, MBA ’15, says the event will also give women a chance to meet role models who have broken gender barriers in male-dominated industries. “Women need to see a reflection of themselves in the workplace,” she says. “It is comforting to meet someone who went down your intended path, and to see that they made it to the other side.”

Besides reaching out to Smith alumni to find speakers and panelists, SAWMBA will host preparation courses to help its members prepare for the career fair. Ferraioli says the club draws a good mixture of full-time, part-time, online and executive MBA women to its meetings.

“We connect all populations,” she says. “Women are excited to come to our events.”