Women's Global Leadership Program

The year-long Women's Global Leadership Program (WGLP) is designed for executives to hone their leadership and deepen their understanding of critical geopolitical trends in order to thrive in a complex and competitive global environment.

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At a Glance

Course Date

February 24 – 28, 2025

Location

CSIS Headquarters

Tuition

$25,000

Reduced tuition rate available for nonprofits and government

Reduced tuition rate available for nonprofits and government

Registration Deadline

November 19, 2024

Overview

Women's Global Leadership Program fellows come to CSIS to gain the skills and savvy to thrive in a rapidly changing global environment. Organizations select outstanding nominees to join a network of senior-level professionals in seminars on global issues and participate in executive leadership and communication training.

Fellows begin the Women’s Global Leadership Program with an intensive week-long retreat at CSIS headquarters in Washington, D.C., in February. In May and November, the cohort reconvenes at CSIS for two days of vigorous seminars and workshops. Participants also engage with one another and CSIS experts in monthly videoconferences and interactive online programming.

Curriculum

WGLP Fellows engage with world-class scholars and practitioners and contribute their own perspectives and expertise while learning from other members of the cohort. The program is built on CSIS’s well-established reputation for bipartisanship, policy relevance, and analytic rigor and its innovative approach to executive education that encompasses both professional and personal growth. The program combines the following elements:

In-person sessions

Each in-person session includes a mix of interactive communications and leadership development; seminar discussions on the global economic, security, and technological landscape; and a dinner event with a prominent speaker.

Emphasis on executive skills

The program addresses specific leadership and communication challenges faced by women executives and builds critical skills to boost their career trajectories. Fellows build expertise through a variety of experiential team-based challenges that foster good communication, strategy, and collaboration. Executive communications workshops, including on-camera media training, give participants tools to craft their message and present ideas with power, passion, and presence.

Monthly videoconferences on timely international developments

These calls connect geopolitical themes to current events shaping the global environment.

Eligibility

CSIS accepts 20-24 nominees to participate in each Women’s Global Leadership Program cohort. Successful nominees will generally have:

  • at least 15 years of experience
  • the potential to serve in senior executive positions in the corporate, nonprofit, or public spheres
  • demonstrated experience and commitment to advancing women's leadership

Nominees may be drawn from anywhere within their organization’s structure, including business units, government relations teams, international divisions, and corporate strategy offices. While designed for women leaders (and likely most beneficial to those who identify as such), the program is open to all who otherwise fulfill the admissions criteria.

How to Apply

For questions about participating or sending nominee(s) from your organization for this next year’s cohort, please email Rukmini Banerjee, Learning and Development Fellow, at RBanerjee@csis.org.

Alumnae

Previous and current fellows include senior women representatives from:

Aramco Services, Arconic, BAE Systems, Barclays, Battelle Memorial Institute, BASF, Bechtel, Chevron, Citigroup, Clifford Chance, Coca Cola, The Cohen Group, ConocoPhillips, Credit Suisse, CVS Health Corporation, Deloitte, Department of Defense, Department of State, Dow Chemical, DynCorp, Equinor, EY, Federal Bureau of Investigation, General Dynamics, Hogan Lovells, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inter-American Development Bank, International Rescue Committee, Jacobs, KPMG LLP, Leidos Holdings Inc, Leonardo DRS, Lockheed Martin, Marine Corps, Médecins Sans Frontières, Morgan Stanley, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, National Counterterrorism Center, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Northrop Grumman, ODNI, Oxfam America, PepsiCo, Raytheon, SAIC, Save the Children, Schlumberger, Siemens, Statoil, TransUnion, Uber, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Walmart Inc, Woodside Energy, World Wildlife Fund, and other organizations.

Program alumnae are invited to return to CSIS regularly to network with CSIS experts and other fellows.

Contact

For more information, please contact Rukmini Banerjee, Learning and Development Fellow, at RBanerjee@csis.org.

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Donatienne Ruy
Director, Executive Education and Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy, and Fellow, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program
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Rukmini Banerjee
Deputy Director and Fellow, Executive Education and Abshire Inamori Leadership Academy