Diversity & Inclusion
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Companies ramping up their competitiveness require diverse and inclusive executive teams. The GW School of Business (GWSB) continued to respond to that need, outpacing every business school in the country when it came to women seeking Global MBAs; appointing a chief diversity officer to accelerate the school’s recruitment of Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented students, staff, and faculty; and organizing roundtables, seminars, and public discussions that brought new voices forward.
GWSB also continued distinguishing itself as one of only 10 U.S. schools offering graduate fellowships to Posse Scholars. The Posse Foundation connects diverse cadres of talented students to leadership-focused education. Within the George Washington University, which partners with the foundation, the GW School of Business is the only school with its own Posse program.
"Diversity and inclusion aren’t a strategy. They are more fundamental than that. They are a value at the School of Business,” said Associate Professor of Accountancy and Business Law Leo Moersen, who was named chief diversity officer in 2021.
Moersen forged a coalition of stakeholders, including the Dean’s Diversity Council, to develop inclusion benchmarks. Already the school has made plans to undertake a number of actions, including an inventory of diversity and equity-related content in the curriculum. Over the next years, it plans to hold workshops to help faculty incorporate relevant material into their coursework. The school’s website will be updated to reflect its commitment to inclusion. Equity and inclusion workshops will be held within the school every semester, and GWSB will cosponsor equity-linked events. The school will also form a task force to look at faculty recruitment, staff hiring and training, and student admissions and mentoring. The task force will make recommendations for building a more equitable and inclusive community.
Moersen said the work will build on existing strengths, including the school’s position as a global leader in business education for women. More than half the graduate enrollment was woman, and women dominated the Global MBA program. The Forté Foundation, dedicated to advancing women in business and business education, said GWSB was the only one of its 53 partner schools around the world to cross the 50 percent line.
“The culture of an organization is one of the biggest factors in females being successful. Women flourish in an environment that is inclusive, and that is what is being fostered at the school,” said alumna Christine Brown-Quinn, a career expert and consultant who mentors students. Brown-Quinn sits on the Dean’s Diversity Council, serves on the school’s Board of Advisors, and is president of the GW Alumni Association.
Moersen also noted that the school’s top-ranked International Business Program exposes students to people, cultures, and business operations from around the world.
Faculty research also touched on issues of diversity and inclusion. Katina Sawyer, assistant professor of management, put the school in the national spotlight for her work documenting the experiences of transgender workers and the challenges facing LGBTQ employees. Research at the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, led by Professor of Economics and Accountancy Annamaria Lusardi, revealed how a lack of financial knowledge hampers the financial well-being of Black and Hispanic women. And Professor of Marketing Vanessa Perry authored a groundbreaking report on Black home ownership.
The school also used online gatherings to examine issues related to inclusion. Several George Talks Business interviews, for example, looked at how artificial intelligence affects inclusion. In October 2020, the school’s International Institute of Tourism Studies hosted its first Indigenous Tourism Forum.
Student organizations — including the GW Black Student Union, the National Association of Asian MBAs, and Prospanica — contributed to a GW School of Business community that celebrated diversity. A new student organization, the Business Pride Network, launched with the goal of offering professional development opportunities to LGBTQ business students. And the Black MBA Association successfully lobbied for the inclusion of more minority-owned businesses in experiential learning opportunities, and it helped the F. David Fowler Career Center expand an annual Diversity Breakfast Roundtable into a Diversity and Inclusion Week.
The Black MBA Association also hosted an awareness-raising Juneteenth event online for the GW community; it was facilitated by a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant. Graduate Programs Manager Brittany Johnson, who advises the student group, said its members built strategic partnerships and collaborations to support expanded programming.
“For Juneteenth, they were diligent about reaching out to student groups across campus, to the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, to the Black Alumni Association, and to others to get greater engagement for the educational event,” said Johnson. “They asked the Dean’s Diversity Council to join as a co-sponsor.
“They wanted to make this an important event across the university.”
While activities and events bring attention to inclusion, Moersen said financial aid is a critical tool in fostering a more diverse enrollment and a broadened curriculum could underpin a more deliberate drive for diversity.
I’d also love to see us have an endowed chair in diversity, equity and inclusion,” he added.