Executive Leadership for Women

Empowering Women to Lead With Confidence and Impact

Upcoming Dates and Tuition

May 12-15, 2026
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Tuition: $6,500

Overview

Leading effectively at the executive level presents universal challenges — but for women, additional hurdles exist in environments still shaped by traditional, masculine models of leadership. This four-day program equips women leaders with strategies to overcome these challenges, redefine leadership norms, and thrive at the highest levels.

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Interest Form

Read about the Inaugural Program

Who Should Apply

Senior leaders with 10-plus years of management experience who currently hold or aspire to roles such as Director, Vice President, or C-suite executive
Entrepreneurs and business owners seeking to grow their organizations and expand their strategic influence
Rising executives at an inflection point in their careers who are preparing for greater authority, board service or enterprise-wide responsibility
Leaders from corporate, nonprofit and public sectors who are shaping organizational culture, strategy and talent development

Program Outcomes

Strengthen executive presence. Navigate gender-based challenges with confidence and authenticity at the highest levels of leadership.
Reframe leadership norms. Move beyond traditional leadership stereotypes by embracing collaborative, learning-focused leadership models.
Master high-stakes influence. Develop tools to protect and enhance personal and organizational reputation, especially in moments of crisis.
Negotiate strategically. Apply effective, bias-aware negotiation techniques to advance initiatives, influence stakeholders, and close leadership and compensation gaps.
Advance career impact. Position themselves for expanded responsibilities, enterprise-wide influence, and board-level opportunities.

Program Overview

Topic 1: Empowering Women in Corporate Leadership
How biases raise challenges for women (executive) leaders – and how to deal with them.

Explore the “glass ceiling” and “glass cliff” phenomena
Analyze how gender influences leadership perception and strategic decision-making
Identify transition strategies for newly appointed female executives
Address bias in mentoring and evaluation practices
Develop actionable solutions through case studies and interactive strategy sessions

Topic 2: Leading for Learning
How traditional understandings of leadership as directive, decisive, and “leading the charge” are more associated with gender bias than more contemporary understandings that put the emphasis on leading empowered teamwork to collaboratively determine ways forward with complex business challenges.

Contrast traditional vs. contemporary leadership models
Emphasize leadership as “leading from what you need to know”
Cultivate a growth mindset and psychological safety
Learn how collaborative, empowered teamwork sidesteps gender bias
Practice techniques to foster learning-based leadership in complex environments

Topic 3: Reputation Management
Zoom in on the reality that leadership, and the challenge for women leaders, comes particularly into focus when personal or corporate reputation is at stake.

Understand how personal and organizational reputations are formed and evaluated
Explore gender bias in reputation assessments, especially during crises
Learn tools to manage, protect, and repair reputations
Engage in interactive case studies, vignettes, and group exercises
Apply management research to real-world reputation challenges

Topic 4: Negotiation
Addressing the reality that negotiations are part and parcel of (executive) leadership – and that gender bias creates unique hurdles for women leaders to be effective negotiators.

Learn negotiation frameworks tailored for executive-level leadership
Understand the unique negotiation challenges and opportunities for women
Build confidence to negotiate in high-stakes, multi-party contexts
Practice proven strategies to close gaps in leadership and compensation
Gain tools to influence decisions and drive strategic outcomes

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Hear From Our Faculty

Before you step into the classroom, get to know some of our faculty on the award-winning Rice Business podcast, Owl Have You Know.

FOUNDING BOARD

The founding board of advisors selected by Rice Business to prepare, launch, and lead this program, is an elite and distinguished group of accomplished executive women with longstanding connections to each other. The board consists of Rice Business alumni, staff and community members who have each transcended barriers, developed insights, and gained a following and reputation for their contributions to empowering other women to prepare for successful careers and advancement into executive roles. Our board is also honored to include the student President of the Rice Business Women in Leadership Conference.