Women’s Leadership Initiative

Our world benefits from diverse leadership and a myriad of voices seeking to address some of the world’s greatest challenges. Yet, around the world we fail to create the conditions to advance women. The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) at the University of Delaware (UD) addresses these challenges by building powerful opportunities to advance diversity and inclusion in service of a more just and sustainable world. Our mission is to advance gender equity in leadership. To do so, we provide advocacy, education and research that enable engagement in powerful conversations and build critical skills that can support women and advance equity and inclusion.

Events and Programs

Women’s Leadership Initiative programs and educational events bring together students, faculty, alumni and the executive community to address gender and leadership issues in our society. Women are empowered to have more confidence and competence in achieving their goals and men have greater understanding of how and why to support women.

Signature programs:

• RiseUP
• Women’s Leadership Online Certificate Program
• ASCEND Certificate Program

Inspiring Women Leaders of Today and Tomorrow

In the Inspiring Women Leaders of Today and Tomorrow podcast, we talk to incredible women to hear about the challenges and opportunities in their rise through leadership. There’s no straight path or one way to success. By spotlighting various career journeys, we hope listeners will build increased confidence and courage to persist, wherever they might currently stand.
Listen on: Spotify | Apple | Amazon

News: Women’s Leadership Initiative

• Lerner Professor Wendy Smith Receives Breakthrough Idea Award by Thinkers50 - Smith’s efforts to build a community promoting both/and thinking are garnering international attention.
• Research Heavy Hitters - UD Lerner Researcher Wendy Smith was named to the Highly Cited Researchers list for the fifth consecutive year.
• Half a World From Home, Displaced Afghan Women Thrive at UD - In honor of International Women’s Day, the Women’s Leadership Initiative is dedicating a social media campaign to the voices of a few of the 14 displaced Afghan students pursuing their education at UD
• Former Gore CEO Terri Kelly Discusses Leading Through Paradox in Chaplin Tyler Lecture - Kelly discussed leading through paradox during a fireside chat with UD professor Wendy Smith during this year’s Chaplin Tyler Lecture series. Kelly, the current UD Board of Trustees chair, was a subject in a book co-authored by Smith entitled Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems.
• Smith Named Highly Cited Researcher for Fourth Year in a Row - Wendy Smith, Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management, has been named to the world’s “who’s who” list of most influential researchers for 2022.

Advisory Board

Thank you to the Women’s Leadership Initiative Advisory Board for providing governance, advice and support for all of our activities.

Contact

For more information about the initiative or any of its programs, contact:

womensleadership@udel.edu

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