Wharton conference takes aim a business world's glass ceiling

Women hoping to make it in the male-dominated business world were given inspiration Friday during a Wharton-sponsored conference celebrating recent strives by women in the corporate arena. The 20th annual "Wharton Women in Business Conference: Redefining Business Leadership" brought together Wharton undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and alumni for a day of workshops and panels led by women who are at the forefront of international business and entrepreneurship. Sessions focused on a variety of issues pertinent to women in corporate America. Some speakers discussed women starting their own companies or female leaders giving back to their community, while other panels centered around global issues, such as learning to conduct business across borders. Speakers at the conference came from Fortune 500 companies in industries that included consulting, investment banking, consumer products, high-tech and venture capital. After a breakfast and registration period, the conference began with the opening remarks of Interim Wharton Dean Patrick Harker, who discussed the "thin line in the sand" that continues to exist for women in corporate America. "We need to feed women into the pipeline of business," Harker said. "Only one third of our MBA students are women because women are not entering the business world like men. We need to let women know that business careers -- the creating of wealth and enterprises -- are exciting careers for women." Presently, women make up only 3 percent of the chief executive officers in corporate America. But of last year's Wharton MBA graduates, women generally had higher starting salaries than men. Last year, Wharton initiated a task force to uncover gender-specific problems in the school, Harker said. "Wharton continues to invest heavily and deeply on gender issues and equality," he added. "We strive to create a workplace where everyone feels both equal and welcome." The conference finished with closing remarks from a surprise guest, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Earlier in the day, the first featured speaker of the conference was Abigail Johnson, senior vice president of Fidelity Management and Research Co., the nation's largest mutual fund company, with more than $600 billion in mutual fund assets. In a 1998 issue of Fortune, Johnson was ranked No. 29 on the magazine's list of the 50 most powerful women in American business. Johnson discussed the importance of women loving their work and working in an environment where they feel comfortable with their colleagues. "A job you love will give you the persistence to find success," Johnson said. Panels throughout the day included "Business Survival Across Borders," "Anatomy of a Start-up: Women as Entrepreneurs," "New Strategies for Global Markets" and "Creating Change: Building our Future." Additionally, two workshops focused on building a professional network and communicating across the gender gap.