Fellowship Aims to Level Playing Field for Women

The financial services industry needs to do more to encourage women to succeed, Paul Purcell ’71, Robert W. Baird and Co. chairman, said January 12 at the Hyde Park Center. “As a whole, the financial services industry has done a very poor job in bringing women along in meaningful careers, and I am being extremely kind when I say poor,” he told more than two dozen people gathered at an evening cocktail reception celebrating the first year of a Baird fellowship for women at the GSB.

The fellowship, awarded in its inaugural year to full-time student Bridget Freas, combines a scholarship and mentoring at the firm. It also enhances Baird’s reputation for forward-looking human capital management and may lead to a greater influx of talent at the firm, Purcell said. “If we can get it right and create a level playing field for women, that will be a huge strategic advantage for us. We will get the best, and we’ll win because our game is all about human capital management and talent.”

According to Freas, the fellowship may encourage women to attend business school and pursue a career in financial services. “A lot of the women I know don’t feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, they’re unaware of the opportunities available in business,” she said. “They may not have had exposure to even realize a career in financial services interests them.”

— Jenn Q. Goddu