Press Release
GIRLS WHO INVEST COMMENCES 2021 FLAGSHIP PROGRAM AND
COMMITS TO A HEIGHTENED FOCUS ON EXPANDING DIVERSITY
IN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
NEW YORK, April 6, 2021 – Girls Who Invest (GWI), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry, welcomes a cohort of 175 scholars to its 2021 Summer Intensive Program.
Through GWI’s flagship ten-week program, each of these accomplished rising college juniors will complete a four-week rigorous program of study on the core tenets of investing. The program is taught by leading academics and industry professionals, including faculty from the Wharton School and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Scholars then complete six-week paid internships in frontline investing at one of GWI’s more than 100 partner firms. After completing the academic program (held virtually for the second year), scholars are equipped with the industry knowledge and financial, technical, and soft business skills required to excel in their internships and future asset management roles. The scholars participating in this year’s Summer Intensive Program will join more than 500 women who have successfully completed the program since 2016.
With a growing alumni base and growing demand for its graduates, GWI is dedicated to bringing more women into asset management and to increasing the diversity of those women with regard to race, socioeconomic background, major, and undergraduate institution. GWI has pledged to achieve measurable increases in these areas, with a goal of having at least 25% of its Summer Intensive Program scholars come from historically underrepresented communities by 2025.
Providing direct support to this commitment, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded GWI a grant of $885,000.
“The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation works to make systemic change to give everyone a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible and that includes changing who participates and makes decisions in our financial systems and institutions. This is the heart of the work of Girls Who Invest, and we’re pleased to provide support to strengthen their recruitment, programming, and retention efforts,” said Shuma Panse, Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
GWI will utilize the funding over the course of three years specifically on efforts to foster community among its alumni and increase the number of underrepresented minority women who participate in the programs, including more targeted recruitment efforts, the development of affinity subgroups, and new programs to support the growing GWI community.
“With the wonderful support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we’re deepening our reach to ensure we are increasing access for all women and leveling the playing field for those entering the industry,” said Katherine Jollon Colsher, CEO of Girls Who Invest. “We are immensely thankful for the continued support from our academic, industry, and financial partners, which allows us to provide new programming for our growing community to champion our alumni beyond their internships and into the early stages of their careers.”
About Girls Who Invest
Girls Who Invest is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing gender diversity and inclusion in investment management with a focus on growing the pipeline of women in frontline investing positions. They accomplish this through education, mentoring, internships, and a supportive community. The organization’s flagship summer program enables college students to explore investment management careers through four weeks of free educational training with top university professors followed by a six-week paid internship at one of more than 100 leading investment management firms in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Scholars can also apply for Girls Who Invest’s fully subsidized, self-directed Online Intensive Program.
In addition, all scholars receive support and career guidance from a community of partners, mentors, and alumni. Girls Who Invest’s vision is for 30% of the world’s investable capital to be managed by women by 2030. For more information, visit www.girlswhoinvest.org.
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