Wharton Women seek to 'consult' their way to the top

Female students hoping to find jobs in consulting and financial services had the opportunity recently to speak with women who have already proven they can make it to the top. About 60 undergraduate women and 40 business representatives gathered last Thursday night for the third annual Wharton Women's Dinner, held at the Sheraton University City hotel at 36th and Chestnut Streets. Wharton Women President Julia Brudnoy started the evening off with a speech geared toward women pursuing a career in business. "Women do have different needs and concerns than men," the Wharton senior said. "There's something wrong if we can't be ourselves." Consultants and associates from 26 firms -- including such powerhouses as Andersen Consulting, McKinsey & Co., PricewaterhouseCoopers and Salomon Smith Barney -- attended the gathering. Such companies typically advise corporations on management, marketing and financial concerns, among other issues. By having the professionals sit at tables with undergraduate women, the students had the opportunity to speak to consultants one-on-one. The intimate nature of the meeting allowed them to talk about the industry as a whole, instead of focusing on the individual companies. "The idea is to limit representatives, so the company focus is not as high as the industry focus," Wharton Women Vice President and head of corporate sponsorship Monica Gupta said. "Students can get the idea of how it really is out there." Wharton sophomore Hsinching Wei said the dinner gave students a good chance to get a "good female perspective" on the lucrative consulting field, a point-of-view which is often hard to find. Maya Walrond, a representative from the consulting firm Monitor Company agreed, noting that "the goal of this is to give exposure to the undergraduates. There are fewer women in consulting than there needs to be." Susan Bowers of Wall Street giant Goldman, Sachs & Co. praised the event for helping students make professional connections and learn from women who have already found success in the field in which they want to work. "This is such a great opportunity for women to meet as women," she said. The events' keynote speaker was Michelle Peluso of the Boston Consulting Group. She reminded her audiences that "despite the fact that we've come a long way, we have a long way to go." Her speech advocated a stronger role for women in the business world. "[Men] made it possible for women to make it to the top, now let's make it probable," Peluso said. Gupta, a Wharton senior, said that this year's event was much more successful than in the past. "The sponsorship this year went way beyond any other time," she said. "This has been a tremendous turn-out."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.