Women in LeadershipCornell Certificate Program
Overview and Courses
This five-course certificate program examines the issues facing women in leadership positions and offers strategies for handling them. Professor Deborah Streeter balances academic research regarding social norms and expectations with practical strategies for operating effectively within the workplace. She discusses how to outmaneuver the "double bind" dilemma, showing strong leadership qualities without being penalized for it. Professor Streeter discusses how women can best negotiate in the workplace, ways to effectively provide both positive and negative feedback and how they can strengthen their emotional intelligence to stand out as a leader among both men and women.
This certificate positions women who are in leadership positions to recognize when there is a gender dimension at work and how they can outstrategize gender bias and their own habits to achieve better results.
For the best experience in this program it is recommended to take these courses in the order that they appear.
This program includes a year of free access to Symposium! These events feature several days of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore the most pressing leadership topics. Symposium events are held several times throughout the year. Once enrolled in your program, you will receive information about upcoming events.
Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
The content of this certificate program is focused on developing and supporting women in leadership. This program is open to students of all sexes and gender identities.Course list
Most women in a leadership role face a very common dilemma: If she's a strong, assertive leader, she's viewed as domineering and abrasive, encountering resistance as a result. If she isn't assertive enough, she's viewed as weak and a pushover, making it hard to get support within the organization. In this course, you will examine that very common double standard and identify strategies to deal with it.
All leaders, regardless of gender, face conflict and resistance and have to work with people who think, act, and communicate differently from themselves. In this course, Deborah Streeter, the Bruce F. Failing, Sr., Professor of Personal Enterprise at Cornell, will show you how to recognize when there's gender bias at play and when there isn't, and how to address any issues that arise.
Many women say they would rather go to the dentist than negotiate for themselves. Why? Women are taught early to create equity in relationships. When you negotiate with someone and you feel that you're taking something away from them, that feels like a violation of the social contract with which you were raised. There's little wonder, then, that negotiation feels deeply uncomfortable for many women.
Yet negotiating is a critical skill that everyone, especially women, has to practice and master in order to be an effective leader. In this course from Cornell Professor Deborah Streeter, you will practice key behaviors that help negotiations, including asking for what you want — something most women are not taught to do. The course emphasises the gender dimension of negotiation strategies and the critical skills on which women leaders in particular need to focus. This course will be most helpful for women leaders who are not already practiced and comfortable in negotiation settings, and those who find negotiating stressful, uncomfortable, and difficult. Negotiating is a routine part of daily life and leadership, and approaching it with confidence and skill signals that you know your worth.
Research shows that emotional intelligence is a critical predictor of performance as well as a very strong driver of leadership and personal excellence. Those with high emotional intelligence can typically read a room quickly, clue into subterfuge, and more easily show respect and empathy. While soft skills such as those may not sound impressive, they can be imperative for a woman in a leadership role. You can be a top performer without any emotional intelligence, but the numbers are against you.
In this course from Professor Deborah Streeter, women leaders can develop their emotional intelligence and learn how to use it to their advantage to manage their team to greater success.
Research shows that feedback is critical for leaders and that creating a culture of feedback is key to a team's success. The more successful a team is, the better an organization's bottom line. However, there is an art to giving and receiving feedback, and if not done properly, feedback can have a negative impact to morale. Conversely, teams who receive feedback in a positive, supportive way will strive to continue to do well.
There can be a gender dimension to giving and receiving feedback that is critical for women in leadership roles to understand, as men and women react differently. In this course, Professor Deborah Streeter will examine the gender dimensions of giving and receiving feedback and explore strategies for working as effectively as possible to lead a high-performing team.
Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Leadership Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.
Join us for the next Symposium in which we’ll discuss the ways that leaders across industries have continued engaging their teams over the past two years while pivoting in strategic ways. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to relevant topics for leaders. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine different areas of leadership, including innovation, strategy, and engagement. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from various industries.
Upcoming Symposium: June 4-6, 2024 from 11am – 1pm ET
All sessions are held on Zoom.
Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.
How It Works
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Key Course Takeaways
- Navigate the “double bind” dilemma facing women in leadership; that is, women are both penalized for using leadership behaviors associated with masculinity and penalized as being weak if their behavior is seen as too feminine
- Outmaneuver typical negotiation traps that women leaders fall into
- Develop emotional intelligence so that women can lead others with greater empathy, self-awareness, and social management
- Give feedback effectively, putting their team in a position to succeed
- Identify what an optimal work/life balance looks like and give women leaders the tools needed to craft this balance for themselves, allowing for both professional and personal success
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Download a Brochure
Not ready to enroll but want to learn more? Download the certificate brochure to review program details.![](https://online.cornell.edu/wp-content/themes/ecustom18/img/mocks/Cornell-Seal-Mockup_558.png)
What You'll Earn
- Women in Leadership Certificate from Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business
- 50 Professional Development Hours (5 CEUs)
- 50 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification
- 50 Credit hours towards HRCI recertification
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Who Should Enroll
- Mid- to-senior level managers
- Anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of gender dynamics in the workplace
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“eCornell puts you in control of your education entrepreneurship. It allows you to choose what you need to learn and how you need to learn it at the right time.”
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“I completed my Women in Leadership Certificate during the most challenging year of my adult life, and I came out of the experience a better career woman and leader, in both my personal and professional life. My certificate gave me an escape of the precarious world around me, and encouraged me to walk the tightrope and make it across.”
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Women in Leadership
Select Payment Method | Cost |
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$2,999 | |