Getting Back in the Game
A new study offers some important suggestions to ease the reentry of older women into the executive workforce Monica McGrath is an adjunct assistant professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She's the former director of leadership development for the Wharton MBA program and was instrumental in the design and delivery of Wharton's first leadership course for women, "Women in Leadership: Legacies & Opportunities." Marla Driscoll has 20 years of consulting experience in the areas of planning, operations improvement, and IT across a variety of industries. She has been an independent consultant for two years and earned an MBA from Wharton in 2001. Mary Gross is a director with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, where she's head of learning and development. A 2002 Wharton graduate, Gross has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, working in the areas of human resources and finance. McGrath, Driscoll, and Gross recently co-authored a study, Back in the Game: Returning to Business after a Hiatus, which was completed under the advisement of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management and through the support of the Forté Foundation, an Austin (Tex.)-based nonprofit organization working to advance women in business. Through a survey and focused interviews, the research team examined the challenges these women -- 81% of whom held MBA degrees -- faced when they return to work after "stepping out" of the workforce for a period of time. The authors also provide recommendations that women, as well as employers and universities, can use to facilitate their reentry into business. McGrath, Driscoll, and Gross recently spoke with BusinessWeek Online reporter Jeffrey Gangemi. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:
