Celebrating Women at Yale SOM

Yale Women

2019 marks two major milestones in Yale’s history: the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of women in Yale College and the 150th anniversary of the first women students at the university who came to study at the School of Art when it opened in 1869. The events, exhibitions, and projects for 2019-2020 are intended to showcase the depth of women’s contributions to Yale and to the world, to celebrate women at the university, and to inspire thoughtful conversation about the future of women at Yale and in the larger society. As we mark these two major milestones for women at the university, we focus on Yale SOM women—their stories, their challenges, and their myriad accomplishments.

For a full range of activities and events across Yale, visit: celebratewomen.yale.edu

SOM Women Trailblazers

From its inception, Yale SOM has educated women to take on leadership roles. It’s no surprise that our early alumnae include women who were pioneers across business and society. They helped redefine the role of women in the workplace These Yale SOM Trailblazers span diverse sectors, yet they all share a common accomplishment. They opened doors and changed the workforce for the generations of women who would follow in their footsteps.

Yale SOM Women Trailblazers

Indra Nooyi ’80

Indra Nooyi ’80 made history when she was named the first woman chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. Under her leadership, PepsiCo launched the Performance with Purpose initiative, incorporating impact on health, society, and the environment into its strategy.
Sharon Oster

The first woman to serve as dean of Yale SOM, Sharon Oster was in office from 2008 to 2011, a critical time of growth and expansion. She laid the groundwork for the construction of the school’s new state-of-the-art campus, Evans Hall.
Nancy Pfund ’82

Impact investing pioneer Nancy Pfund ’82 helped establish the double-bottom-line movement when she founded venture capital firm DBL Partners with the goal of making investments that would produce financial, as well as social, environmental, and economic, returns.
Linda Mason ’80

Linda Mason’s ’80 mission-driven startup Bright Horizons introduced the novel concept of employee-supported childcare centers at workplaces. Today, Bright Horizons is the largest worldwide provider of worksite child care and early education, making life a little easier for working parents.

Community Profiles

Yale SOM Community

SOM offers an environment where you are not just trained very well technically by world-class faculty, but you also have the opportunity to explore the human side of being a businessperson.

Shirley Yeung ’93
I thought I’d be involved in a new startup as part of a team or a larger group. But to actually be the founder bringing forth the new company was really awesome and not something I would’ve even dreamt about had I not been through the program.

Wendy Davis ’14
The core curriculum culminates in the final Executive course, when you realize you’ve learned to look at things through different functional lenses, at the quantitative as well as qualitative aspects.

Katherine Cattanach ’20
That’s how I’d like to be remembered, as someone who stepped into a difficult situation, got to work, and got things done.

Professor Sharon M. Oster
I like the pattern of learning the best the private sector has to offer…then moving into nonprofits, because I’ve been better able to build partnerships, make connections, address all forms of operational and leadership issues.

Martha Finn Brooks ’86
This is all I could have hoped for: being able to find a group of people, not only at school but post-MBA, who really identify with what I’m passionate about.

Uma Krishnan ’19
Part of my mission here is to help educate people—maybe it’s women, maybe it’s millennials—whoever feels they could be more organized financially.

Rebecca Lilly Brooks ’98
In my classes here at SOM, I’ve had students from the Graduate School, students from Forestry, students from Drama, students from the Law School, undergraduates. We get a lot of perspectives in the classroom.

Professor Amy Wrzesniewski