Chapter 8: Advancing Women’s Executive Development: Effective Practices for the Design and Delivery of Global Women’s Leadership Programs

In the summer of 2013, the Women and Leadership Affinity Group of the International Leadership Association (ILA) hosted an inaugural conference at the Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California, where over 200 researchers, scholars, and practitioners gathered together to explore the state of women and leadership—past, present, and future. Presentations included topics about global women’s leadership development as well as efforts toward the advancement of women in leadership in all sectors of society. Within hours of the start of the conference, a fierce and collective expression of frustration resounded from the majority of attendees regarding the progress still lacking for women reaching the upper echelons of all manner of industry, government, and society. Perhaps the recent calls for action that notables such as Anne-Marie Slaughter and Sheryl Sandberg had issued in the year leading up to this conference had fueled this urgency. Regardless, the frustration was clear and evident, and in the days following, we exchanged ideas with fellow attendees, ultimately giving voice to the resounding alarm that the time to excavate real answers was now.