Business in Heels and Deakin launch MBA Access Scholarship crowdfunding campaign.
An innovative crowdfunding campaign has been launched by Deakin and Business in Heels to support the MBA Access for Women Scholarship program.
The campaign, which aims to raise $25,000 towards scholarships to support women who are facing barriers to study, is a partnership between Deakin and Business in Heels, a company focused on empowering and supporting women leaders that connects more than 160,000 women globally.
Co-founders of Business in Heels, Jo Plummer and Lisa Sweeney both know first-hand the positive impact the Deakin MBA has on the lives and careers of women leaders and share Deakin’s commitment to increasing women’s participation in MBA study.
“Good intentions are not enough if we want to see more women succeeding as CEOs, executives and in the boardroom – we need to be equipping women with the skills they need to be successful,” Ms Plummer, a Deakin MBA graduate, said.
“An MBA is more than just a piece of paper – the knowledge you learn and the networks you build help prepare you to take your career to the next level, which is why we are wanting to support the next generation of women leaders to gain the skills they need to be successful.”
Ms Sweeney, a current MBA student, said one of the reasons Business in Heels had decided to partner with Deakin was the Deakin MBA’s highly flexible structure that was well suited to meet the needs of business women.
“This campaign is about giving a future woman leader facing barriers to education the financial support she needs to develop the skills and build the networks that will enable her future success,” Ms Sweeney said.
“The reason why we’re working with Deakin is we have experienced the University’s incredibly flexible and supportive learning environment that makes it easier for women juggling work and family commitments to advance their education.”
Deakin’s MBA Director Associate Professor Colin Higgins said the scholarship program was part of the University’s effort to reduce the gender imbalance in Australian MBA programs.
“Across Australia, only 30 per cent of MBA graduates are women, yet an MBA is one of the most powerful qualifications that any leader can have,” Associate Professor Higgins said.
“Women should be able to benefit as much as men from the career opportunities of having an MBA, yet they are underrepresented in these courses with the two biggest barriers being time and money – this scholarship program helps to remove one of these barriers, while Deakin’s flexible learning approach helps reduce the other.”
“We’re delighted to have Business in Heels on board for this fundraising campaign and are matching all funds raised.”
To find out more, or to make a donation to the campaign, visit the campaign's official website.