Kathy Korman Frey, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the GW School of Business, says there is a reason GW women are equipped to take on leadership roles: They’ve learned the confidence equation. Korman Frey, a faculty member in the Department of Management, talks about the importance of self-efficacy and what’s on the career horizon.
Q: Why is it so important to develop women’s entrepreneurial leadership expertise?
A: A growing body of research has shown that increasing women’s participation in entrepreneurship and leadership can have significant economic impact for countries, companies and communities. Studies have found countries that support women’s entrepreneurship often see gains in their GDP and companies with greater gender diversity in leadership tend to perform better financially.
At the community level, research also suggests that women influence a large share of household purchasing decisions and frequently reinvest in their families and communities.
Q: You say self-efficacy—the belief in one’s capabilities—is the secret to women’s success. What do you mean?
A: Picture Rosie the Riveter and the idea that “I’ve got this.” Self-efficacy refers to a person’s confidence that they can act and succeed at a challenging task. For entrepreneurs, that belief matters because starting a venture requires initiative, decision-making under uncertainty and persistence through setbacks.
Research in education and psychology has found that, beginning in early adolescence, girls often report lower self-efficacy than their male counterparts in areas such as leadership and risk-taking. Helping students build that confidence can make a meaningful difference in whether they see entrepreneurship and leadership roles as attainable. There are policy and workplace changes that can and should happen, but this topic will never be off the table until we see self-efficacy at equal levels.
Q: You co-designed and teach leadership courses for men and women in the School of Business. The Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program (WEL) incorporates confidence-building into its curriculum. Can you say more about that?
A: I’ll lean on students for this one. WEL alumna Lilla Reinertson, founder of eco pet product brand LuluPoo, says that WEL laid out a real foundation for what it actually takes to build a company. I’m quoting her here: “There’s no textbook that does that, and it’s never one-size fits all, but the way WEL approaches it, no one does it better. I always knew I was going to get real-world, no-holds-barred boardroom conversations that no one else was teaching.”
The Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership class has historically delivered self-efficacy gains of as much as 200 percent. Cultural exchange and corporate workshops I do boost self-efficacy between 66 percent and 300 percent, depending on the exercise. The allyship of the men in our classes is also important. We’re not going to do this alone.
Q. What are some of the components of the class—and how do they improve confidence?
A: We focus on the whole leader, including the neurology of leadership, managing through crisis and other topics relevant for today’s world. There are three modules: Venture, build one; Leader, be one; and Mentor, get one–or, actually, get five.
While speaking with a group of professional women from Latin America, I asked, “Who would like to be CEO of your organization?” Nobody raised their hand. When I said, “Imagine you have a personal board of advisors that is designed to coach you through all the key parts of being the CEO. Now who would want to have that role?” About three-quarters of the women raised their hands.
This illustrates the powerful role mentoring and support networks can play. Based on this idea, my Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership class at GW is experimenting with AI tools that simulate a “personal board of advisors” to help students think through leadership and career decisions.
With the support of GW Business alumni donors Norman Leben, Dejana Dua and Joseph Martore, we are also piloting WELx, which adapts elements of the WEL curriculum for broader community engagement.
Q: Although much of your work focuses on women and entrepreneurship, what stands out about GW business students more broadly?
A: Our students have a sophisticated approach to business. I see it in research we’ve done, in the classroom and in what employers tell us. In the investment world we call them “operators,“ people who know how to execute. These students have hustle. They don’t just sit around thinking about things, they act.
Approximately 94 percent of our students complete internships during their time at GW, which gives them significant practical experience before graduation. Bottom line: We’re a city university filled with high drive students who are “doers.” Combine that with the access to a campus-wide entrepreneurship ecosystem incorporating all schools, access to speakers and projects at the global and D.C.-levels, and our location in the center of the world’s policy… I place GW students a good two years ahead of the typical college graduate.
Q: The GW School of Business attracts many talented female students. Why is that?
A: GW consistently ranks No. 1 in the world as measured by the percentage of women enrolled in M.B.A. programs. The Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program won a National Excellence in Education Award from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Our goal is to ensure that more women are prepared to step into positions of leadership.
The school also offers a wide range of resources available to all students interested in entrepreneurship and leadership, from global consulting to student organizations and mentorship networks. Some initiatives highlight women’s leadership and entrepreneurship.
The Revs entrepreneurial leadership spirit is infused through the entirety of GWSB, including student organizations. For example, GW Women in Business (GWWIB), one of our most active student organizations at the School of Business, hosts workshops, a conference and career treks with industry leaders. Student leaders are operating at a full professional level of quality.
We have a large proportion of women in leadership at the school. While we have not formally surveyed on this topic, I do wonder if that is an influencer.
Q: GW is underpinned by experiential learning. What real-life opportunities do students have at the School of Business?
A: Pitch competitions are a big one, notably Pitch George and the New Venture Competition. At most business schools these pitch competitions are a standalone event, but here they are integrated into entrepreneurship class syllabi thanks to our entrepreneurship professors and their partnership with—as I call it–our Entrepreneurship Super Group, a.k.a. the university-wide entrepreneurship ecosystem. Students develop venture ideas as part of their coursework and present them in competitions, receiving feedback from faculty, alumni and investors. Our location and connections give students unparalleled access to guest speakers, mentors and consulting projects connected to real organizations.
Q: You’ve always got your eye on the horizon. What’s ahead in business?
A: We’re all familiar with the high-profile growth industries. Beyond those, my money is on intrapreneurship: innovation and venture-building within existing organizations. The majority of students don’t start their own businesses directly out of college. Rather, they might build their skills by working for large companies, nonprofits or the government. Organizations that embrace intrapreneurship let those employees innovate while leveraging company resources to develop new ideas, new products and new services.
Intrapreneurship is built into our innovation and entrepreneurship major at the GW School of Business. Companies want employees who are resourceful, who are communicators and who are creative. We are preparing our students to walk out of the School of Business with that toolkit to support them as intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs throughout their career.