Forté Impact: Stacey Hadash

Supporting women through Forté

Now she’s motivating young women by connecting Forté with her alma mater, Smith College. Her financial support brings Forté’s Rising Stars program to Smith women so they can envision rewarding business careers long before they enter the workforce.

Rising Stars, an online initiative offered by 38 top colleges, positions undergrads for success in business. It covers everything from career exploration to personal branding, and it builds each woman’s network of business leaders, MBA students, and career counselors.

“Here's why I love the Rising Stars program: It is a scalable, digital program that delivers content to students in a way that's interactive and fun. It also allows students to go at their own pace. They are exposed to business early—freshman and sophomore years—and become part of a network.

Being a visible role model

In college, despite being a government major with no interest in a business career, Stacey had one job interview with a bank.

“I had no context about the role of banks, the opportunities or how to interview. Needless to say, I wasn’t called back.”

Now that her career has progressed through political campaigns, business school, consulting, The New York Stock Exchange, and banking, she advises women to approach their careers with an open mind. And she takes her position as a role model seriously.

“You can't be what you can't see,” she said. “If you don't have role models who look like you, talk like you and are interesting to you, then you have no frame of reference. It's just not going to occur to you to consider a career in business.”

What’s a business leader’s responsibility to the next generation? Stacey’s answer is straightforward.

“You’ve got to show up,” she said. “If you're not engaged with these women — if you're not networking with them — then you’re not visible to them. They won't realize that they can be as successful and happy as you are because they don’t know the path to get there.”