At ACE, we have long recognized that the business case is strong for a diverse leadership pool and, as a result, we continue to help cultivate the careers of many professional women who can step into executive-level roles. One of the most important ways that ACE has supported the professional development of women actually began 12 years ago as a grassroots effort.Executive Summary ACE Group’s Deborah Giss Stalker, who is also the president of ACE Women’s Forum, describes the history of the Forum, its mentoring program and some of the milestones of the program to date.
In 2002, a small, informal group of women in Philadelphia met after work to talk about helping women advance at ACE. Several had worked for companies with networking groups that proved beneficial, and they wanted to bring that concept to ACE. According to research performed by Catalyst, a nonprofit that conducts research about the role of women in business, the companies with the most women board directors and a diverse executive representation outperform those companies with very few women in these roles.