Rutgers Center for Women in Business

11/04/2026

What can mentorship make possible for your career?

For G.R.O.W. mentee Olena Bondarenko, what began as an opportunity to expand her network became so much more.

Through mentorship, shared experiences, and new perspectives, Olena gained greater clarity and confidence in her leadership journey. Since G.R.O.W., she's been selected to co-lead an enterprise-wide AI-powered finance initiative!

Swipe to read Olena's story and learn how G.R.O.W. supported her professional growth.

Ready for your next chapter?

Applications are now open for our Spring 2027 G.R.O.W. Mentoring Program, connecting mid-career professionals with experienced senior leaders and a supportive community to help them grow and thrive.

Apply by December 11. Spots are limited!

🔗 https://mentoring.business.rutgers.edu/p/p9

10/29/2026

Corporate leaders and academic researchers: Be part of the conversation shaping the future of work.

On November 20, the Rutgers Center for Women in Business will bring together corporate and academic leaders for our 2026 Annual Conference, The Mental Load at Work: Care-Work, Well-Being, and Career Trajectories.

The conference will explore how the often-invisible cognitive, relational, and emotional work that sustains teams and organizations affects employee well-being, performance, retention, and career advancement.

Leveraging the latest research from leading academic scholars, we'll explore caregiving as a leadership skill, employee well-being as a driver of business performance, and the potential impact of AI on mental load — with practical insights for today's workplace.

Featured Keynote & Sessions -
🎤 Lunch Keynote: Simple: Yesterday's Brain, Today's World and the Forgotten Science of Living Well with Kristina Durante, PhD

1. Defining the Mental Load: The Visible Impact of Invisible Work
Krystal Duarte, Lisa Kaplowitz, Kate Mangino, Leah Ruppanner

2. Caregiving as a Leadership Skill: Why Supporting Caregivers Is a Business Imperative
Laura DuPoux (Moderator), Taveeshi Gupta, Anja Krstić, Kate Mangino, Michelle Yu

3. Employee Well-Being as a Driver of Business Performance
Krystal Duarte (Moderator), Colleen Ammerman, Caitlin Freeland, Mari Marques-Thomas, Tina Opie

4. Will AI Increase the Mental Load?
Erin Grau (Moderator), Marianne Cooper, Darshini Mahadevia, Jina Suh

Our Annual Conference is one of the best ways to experience CWIB's research and community firsthand — connecting with corporate and academic leaders committed to building workplaces where women, and everyone, can thrive.

A special thank you to our sponsors, Crum & Forster and Sanofi, for their generous support in making this important conference possible!

📅 Friday, November 20, 2026
🕗 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM ET
📍 Rutgers Business School | New Brunswick, NJ

Space is limited. Learn more and register: https://women.business.rutgers.edu/events/2026-conference-mental-load-work

10/27/2026

New research from LeanIn highlights why manosphere content is more than just an online trend. 9 in 10 adults have seen manosphere or tradwife content in the past year, and frequent exposure is linked to stronger beliefs that men are better suited for leadership and that women are too emotional for high-pressure roles (despite research to the contrary).

Even more concerning, LeanIn also found that 6 in 10 employees have heard at least one of these sexist views expressed at work, where they can influence feedback, promotion opportunities, and workplace culture.

When fringe views go unchallenged, they risk becoming normalized. And when these beliefs take hold in the workplace, they can shape who is seen as a leader, whose contributions are valued, and who gets opportunities to advance.

At Rutgers Center for Women in Business, our work focuses on identifying and removing the barriers that hold women back. This research underscores just how deeply ingrained gender stereotypes remain, and why we need leaders who are willing to challenge them.

We call on senior leaders, especially our male allies, to speak up when they hear sexist comments and challenge the assumptions that perpetuate workplace bias.

LeanIn Article: https://leanin.org/articles/findings/fighting-the-manosphere/

The manosphere is rebranded sexism, and new Lean In research shows how deeply it's shifting beliefs about women at work. Here's what to do about it.

10/22/2026

Are you a mid-career leader with 10–20 years of experience, ready to accelerate your career? Or a small business owner looking to scale your impact, network, and skills?

Why Join G.R.O.W.?
◾High-Powered Mentorship & Community: Learn directly from senior executives and certified coaches
◾Targeted Learning: 5 interactive virtual sessions
◾Topics designed to move your career forward: including negotiation, self-advocacy, burnout prevention, strategic networking, and executive presence

Ready to invest in your next chapter?

Learn More and Apply Here👉 https://mentoring.business.rutgers.edu/p/p9

Open to Rutgers alumni ($100) and non-alumni applicants ($150). Program fees are subsidized by the generous donations of our community and corporate sponsors.

10/14/2026

We are proud to spotlight Dana Kraml, ACC, Rutgers Center for Women in Business Advisory Board Member and Founder & CEO of DKNJ Coaching and Consulting.

With 30 years of experience across financial services and consulting—including senior leadership roles at Citi, BNY, JPMorganChase, and American Express —Dana brings deep expertise in compensation strategy, talent and performance management to our Advisory Board.

We’re grateful for leaders like Dana who bring real-world perspective, challenge our thinking, and are committed to creating workplaces where women—and everyone—can thrive.

Want to get involved? Contact us at [email protected].

10/11/2026

Happy International Day of the Girl!

Observed annually on October 11, International Day of the Girl is a global moment to celebrate girls everywhere and amplify their voices, actions, and leadership. This year's theme, "End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls' Rights," calls for action to ensure every girl can learn, grow, lead, and reach her full potential.

Too many girls around the world continue to face barriers that limit their opportunities and restrict their choices. Together, let's reaffirm our commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers.

Learn More Here: https://www.unicef.org/gender-equality/international-day-girl

10/06/2026

What happens when traditional corporate structures no longer meet the needs of mid-career women?

A Forbes article earlier this year explored a growing trend among women choosing to build careers with greater ownership, flexibility, and control.

This theme closely aligns with research from the Rutgers Center for Women in Business, featured in Fast Company. We found that many women moving into entrepreneurship aren’t leaving because they’ve lost ambition. Many had already built successful careers, managed teams, mentored others, and been on leadership tracks.

What they’re seeking is not less responsibility, but a different way to work and advance - with greater autonomy and the ability to integrate work with caregiving and other life responsibilities.

For organizations, this raises an important question. If talented, experienced women feel they need to leave traditional corporate structures to find those things, how do those structures need to evolve?

Together, the Forbes article and our research point to an opportunity for employers: to rethink how careers are designed to create more flexible, sustainable pathways for women to grow, lead, and have impact throughout mid-career.

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinefairchild/2026/06/08/why-mid-career-women-are-trading-the-ladder-for-something-they-can-build-themselves/
Fast Company CWIB Research: https://www.fastcompany.com/91563991/why-mid-career-women-are-leaving-corporate-america-for-entrepreneurship

Feeling stuck mid-career? Women are trading the corporate ladder for ownership and control. The data behind the shift, and how to read your own restlessness.

10/01/2026

What do women really want from the workplace?

In this episode of Activating HOPE, our Executive Director, Lisa Kaplowitz, sits down with Hope Zoeller to explore a powerful truth emerging in today’s workplaces: women don’t necessarily want more flexibility. They want boundaries that are respected.

Inspired by insights from the recent New York Times article, “What Women Really Want: To Not Answer Work Emails at 10 p.m.,” Lisa shares perspectives from her research and experience helping organizations create environments where women can lead and thrive without sacrificing their personal lives.

Together, Lisa and Hope discuss how the culture of “always-on” work undermines well-being, productivity, and equity, and why establishing predictable work expectations and honoring downtime isn’t just good for employees, it’s good for business. Tune in for practical strategies leaders can use to model healthier workplace norms, foster sustainable success, and empower women to define leadership on their own terms.

🎧 Search for Activating HOPE wherever you get your podcasts or visit hopeforleaders.com/podcast.

09/30/2026

What might having a daughter teach men about partnership?

New research from Rutgers Center for Women in Business finds that fathers of daughters demonstrate higher levels of commitment, trust, intimacy, and attentiveness toward their partners than fathers of sons.

CWIB Postdoctoral Research Associate Krystal Duarte, PhD, and CWIB Research Fellow and Rutgers Business School Professor Kristina Durante contributed to a study surveying nearly 1,700 parents across the U.S. to explore how having a daughter may shape fathers’ relationships with their partners.

One possible explanation is especially interesting: fathers may be modeling for their daughters what they should expect from a partner—simply through how they show up in their own relationships.

At Rutgers Center for Women in Business, our research examines the many factors that shape women’s experiences, expectations, and opportunities throughout their lives. Understanding those influences—at home as well as at work—can help us better understand the environments in which women thrive.

Read more about the research:
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/dads-daughters-may-be-more-attentive-partners?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rutgerstoday&utm_content=Research%20%26amp%3B%20Innovation

In a study published online ahead of print in the November issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, scholars at Rutgers Business School’s Center for Women in Business report that fathers of daughters show higher levels of attachment, commitment, trust and intimacy toward the ...

09/29/2026

Curious about AI but unsure what it means for your career? Join us on Thursday, October 29th, from 12:00-1:00 PM ET for a timely webinar with Fortune 500 keynoter and Rutgers AI lecturer Christina "CK" Kerley.

Amid all the uncertainty surrounding AI, this session brings the focus back to what you can control: your success. Through a series of high-impact strategies, you'll learn how to leverage AI as a new way to think, work, and grow your career. CK will show you how to stop worrying about the constant uncertainty of the AI Age and start using AI to amplify your value, strengthen your competitive edge, and future-proof your relevance.

Register Here: https://rutgers.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FZLxJSmZQ5G4lBeLpNfOfQ #/