The One Hundred Wise Women program was conceived in 2004 as an outgrowth of Deloitte’s Women’s Initiative. It was founded on the premise that talented professionals need both trusted mentors and strong, diverse networks in order to establish themselves as leaders in their careers and community. In 2005, Procter & Gamble and U.S. Bank joined Deloitte as sponsors of One Hundred Wise Women along with GE joining in 2019.
Women hold about eight percent of the nation’s top leadership positions, despite comprising fifty percent of the management and professional workforce and despite studies that rate women as high as or higher than men on leadership skills. One reason for the gap is networking and mentoring: men’s socialization focuses from an early stage on developing the relationships that underpin career growth.One Hundred Wise Women aims to bridge that gap.
It is also inspiring that the One Hundred Wise Women model has been replicated beyond Cincinnati, with similar programs in cities including Columbus, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. We are delighted to have planted a seed for more women to leverage the power of networking.