One Hundred Wise Women is a program developed in 2004 by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP to increase the base of qualified, connected women leaders in the Cincinnati area.  It is an outgrowth of the company’s own Women’s Initiative and is founded on the premise that talented professionals and executives need both trusted mentors and a strong, diverse network of colleagues and friends in order to establish themselves as leaders in their careers and in the community.  In 2005, Ashland, Convergys, Procter & Gamble, Taft Stettinius & Hollister, and US Bank joined Deloitte as sponsors of One Hundred Wise Women.   While Cincinnati has a number of women’s professional organizations and programs to recognize women leaders, there is no forum specifically designed to give rising leaders an opportunity to interact with and learn from the women who have gone before them.  One Hundred Wise Women is intended to fill that void.   Women only hold five to six percent of the nation’s top leadership positions, despite the fact that they comprise fifty percent of the management and professional workforce and despite studies that rate women as high or higher than men on leadership skills.  A growing number of professionals say one reason for the gap is networking and mentoring: Men are more active in developing the relationships that underpin career growth, possibly because they learn bonding as part of their early socialization.  One Hundred Wise Women aims to bridge that gap.   “We want women to find out what hurdles they need to overcome to be among Cincinnati’s leading women executives and community leaders.  We keep the groups small with a ratio of one Wise Woman to five attendees,“ said Beth Rader, One Hundred Wise Women founder and spokesperson.  “The networking breakfasts provide opportunities for women to ask specific questions related to their individual work life situations and find solutions that will help them advance their careers.  Participants build relationships with Cincinnati’s most powerful women.”