• Darden women make a significant impact every day — at Darden, in Charlottesville and around the world. They are club presidents — currently leading over half of Darden's student clubs — community leaders, entrepreneurs and more. Darden is committed to recruiting women who want to positively impact the world, and empowering them for long-term success in whatever role they choose. Darden has a history of advocacy on behalf of women, moreover, including our Dean's participation in the White House Roundtable to outline best practices for cultivating women leaders and improving workforce conditions for women and families.

    Over the course of two years at Darden and as a lifelong member of the alumni network, you will be able to take advantage of mentorship, alumni and career development resources, and you will develop skills critical to gaining respect as a business leader. Darden’s distinctive case method of instruction — designed to strengthen students' confidence in their communication, decision-making and teamwork skills — and experiential learning opportunities create a great learning environment for women.

    In the following video, you'll meet five women from Darden who talk about the challenges they faced — and the successes they found — as they worked to find their voices in business school.

    Below you will be able to meet some of Darden's female leaders, learn about the student and partner organizations that support our female students and peruse a collection of resources developed particularly for women.

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    Meet Darden Alumnae

    Gaelle Mawadjou Tchokoua

    Gaelle Mawadjou Tchokoua (MBA '17)

    A native of Cameroon, Gaelle came to Darden to grow her public speaking skills and her career. Gaelle now works at M&T Bank and also plans to pursue impact investing in Africa.

    Read more about Gaelle's Darden experience

    Hillary Lewis Murray (MBA '13)

    What does hard work, determination and a Darden MBA get you? Ask Hillary Lewis Murray, founder and CEO of LUMI Organics, who was recently featured by the Forté Foundation as a fearless leader and role model.

    Read Hillary's profile on the Forté Foundation Business 360 Blog.

    Carolyn Miles

    Carolyn Miles (MBA '88)

    As the CEO of an international nonprofit, Save the Children, Carolyn models how a Darden an MBA can prepare you for a successful and rewarding career in the nonprofit sector.

    Read more about  Carolyn's Accomplishments

    Jennifer Hayes

    Jennifer Hayes (MBA '01)

    As partner at Bain & Company and mother of three, Jennifer's life is a wonderful story of success both in her career and at home.

    Read more about  Jennifer's Accomplishments

    Katherine Neebe

    Katherine Neebe (MBA '04)

    Since graduating from Darden, Katherine has worked with a wide range of corporate, government and nonprofit organizations. After spending six years at WWF managing one of the world's largest corporate-NGO partnerships, Katherine joined Walmart's sustainability team and leads Walmart's external stakeholder relationships.

    Contact Our Alumnae

    Reach out to one of our many alumnae ambassadors to hear more about their experience at Darden, and their journey since graduating.

    Contact an Alumnae Ambassador

    Darden and the Forté Foundation

    Forté Foundation, an organization committed to helping more women pursue business leadership roles. While every woman at Darden can join Forté, each member school has the opportunity to select Forté Fellows.

    The Forté Foundation offers many resources unique to Fellows. In addition to the financial support provided through fellowships awarded by individual Forté member schools, Fellows gain exposure to leading companies and professionals in the Forté network. They also gain an immediate network of Fellows that extends beyond their individual business school.

    Application Fee Waiver

    Darden offers application fee waivers to Forté MBALaunch members. If you have been accepted into the Forté MBALaunch program, please enter the code "10059" on the Program Information page of our application to receive your waiver.

    Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) 

    Darden’s chapter of Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) promotes the role of professional women by developing a greater appreciation for issues of diversity among men, women, faculty and administration. GWIB provides resources related to women’s issues in pursuing a career in business and helps students create and build their professional and personal networks.

    Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) 

    Darden’s chapter of   Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) promotes the role of professional women by developing a greater appreciation for issues of diversity among men, women, faculty and administration. GWIB provides resources related to women’s issues in pursuing a career in business and helps students create and build their professional and personal networks.

    1:1 Program for Prospective Student Women

    Darden is known for having a tight-knit community. In order to give you a more personalized introduction, the  Graduate Women in Business Club and the Office of Admissions are pleased to offer the 1:1 Program for Prospective Student Women.

    The program will pair you with a current female student mentor in late summer so that you can have a one-on-one connection with a member of the Darden community. Previous participants have found that this is a fantastic way to learn about the School, the student community and the many academic opportunities and resources. 

    If you are interested in applying to be a part of the 1:1 Program, please email  Haley Whitlock Gyory . 

    UVA Resources for Women