In the summer of 2017, the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing (NDIGI) and the Mendoza College of Business announced their new partnership with Girls Who Invest (GWI), a non-profit organization founded in 2015 and dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the investment management industry. This partnership allowed Girls Who Invest to expand its Summer Intensive Program from 60 participants to 100. For the first time this summer, the University of Notre Dame will be hosting 50 young women participating in this program. These 50 young women will have the opportunity to experience Notre Dame’s campus life as they will be residing in Howard Hall, eating in the dining halls, using resources and facilities like the Hesburgh Library and the Duncan Student Center, and learning under Notre Dame faculty.
“This new partnership with Girls Who Invest is a unique opportunity that will allow NDIGI to serve as a bridge between the finance industry and the female students interested in investing careers,” said Kevin Burke, Managing Director of NDIGI. “We will be able to create a pipeline of women prepared to succeed in investment management, help women discern and navigate their entry into investment management, and to provide educational, programming and professional networking opportunities to ensure both short and long-term career success.”
GWI has a variety of programs that prepare women interested in exploring careers in the finance industry. The Summer Intensive Program inspires, educates, and supports rising undergraduate juniors interested in pursuing a career in investment management. Nine current sophomores from Notre Dame will be participating in the 2018 Summer Intensive Program. This program consists of a 4-week educational intensive that includes training in ethics, presentation skills, and interview preparation at either Notre Dame or the University of Pennsylvania. Following this 4-week intensive, the girls continue on to a six-week paid summer internship at leading investment management firms.
GWI’s mission is to have 30% of the world’s invested capital managed by women by 2030. GWI’s objective to provide women with greater access to the world’s investable capital and to changing the lack of diversity on investment teams caught the attention of multiple Notre Dame women who will be participating in the 2018 Summer Intensive Program.
“When I heard that less than 7% of the world's investable capital is managed by women, I was absolutely shocked. I decided to apply to GWI to be a part of the future generation of female scholars that will change this industry,” said sophomore Mary Lynch.
In addition to the experiences gained from the Summer Intensive, this cohort of young women will also have ongoing access to the robust GWI community. Looking forward to the Summer Intensive Program, upcoming participants see the ability to forge connections as one of the program’s major benefits.
“I am most excited for the opportunity to connect with other intelligent young women from schools across the country and also with female mentors currently working in the field of Asset Management who are already playing a role in changing the statistic of the number of women in the industry,” said 2018 participant Kateri Budo.
The GWI Summer Intensive Program will be held over the following 4-week periods:
The University of Notre Dame: June 3, 2018-June 30, 2018.
The University of Pennsylvania: May 27, 2018- June 22, 2018.
The paid internships with industry leading set management firms will start following the 4-week Intensive on July 5, 2018- August 15, 2018.
Notre Dame Sophomores Participating in GWI’s 2018 Summer Intensive Program:
At the University of Notre Dame:
Kateri Budo, Economics and Mathematics
Clare Eilers, Finance and Psychology
Emma Lowry, Finance and Applied Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS)
Julia Reyes, Economics and Applied Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS)
Amanda Wall, Finance and Economics
At the University of Pennsylvania:
Maria Anthony, Finance and Spanish
Carson Collins, Finance and History
Melissa Guo, Finance and Political Science
Mary Lynch, Finance and Applied Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS)