Women and Leadership Initiative

Purpose

The Women and Leadership Initiative at the Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership exists to promote gender equity in the workplace. Currently, there are three programs that are part of the initiative’s effort to support the success of women — mentorship for MBA students, professional development for women in Tampa Bay and thought leadership events and research. 
Our position is that the pursuit of gender equity is both ethically correct and good business practice. We aspire to make gender equity the new normal for the USF community, elevating the expectations for how USF graduates will be treated and how they will treat others as they enter the workforce.  

Benefactors

The Women and Leadership Initiative was inspired by the success of three important benefactors to the Muma College of Business -- Kate Tiedemann, Ellen Cotton and Lynn Pippenger -- all powerful women in business in their own right. Their gifts support student engagement opportunities, scholarships, innovative practices, research and much more. All local to Tampa Bay, the women maintain an active role on campus and help to inspire the next generation of business leaders. Learn more about Tiedemann, Cotton and Pippenger below.

Mentorship

The Women and Leadership Initiative Mentorship Program provides USF MBA and MAcc students professional development opportunities and provides students with a toolkit to work toward equity for women. Read more.

LEADFORWARD^SM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

LEADFoward^SM is a year-long series of roundtables that help empower women who aspire to level-up their career 1-2 leadership tiers, or business owners ready to take their company to the next level. Read more.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 

Through a combination of sponsoring research and producing events, the Women and Leadership Initiative helps to elevate the conversation about gender equity in the workplaces of Tampa Bay. Read more.