Center for Women in Leadership

Empowering Women to Lead at the Highest Levels of Confidence

Organizations are seeking what women have to offer as leaders. At the Pepperdine Graziadio Center for Women in Leadership (CWL), we focus on building your confidence and instilling the strongest sense of competency and readiness for the challenges and rewards of leadership. Through mentorship programs, industry engagement, and research on gender diversity, we contribute to an ongoing dialogue about women in leadership all around the world.

We believe now is the time to inspire and develop our women—our students, our faculty, and our staff—to their greatest leadership expression. In the words of Bernice Ledbetter, Director of the Pepperdine Center for Women in Leadership, "Now is the time. Tomorrow may be too late."

Women Making a Difference

Mentorship

Developing Best for the World Leaders

We’re proud to offer meaningful opportunities to further develop future business leaders, including connecting our students with those who best lead by example—our alumni. Our Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM) Executive Mentoring Program is designed to provide students with exclusive online networking and executive mentoring opportunities, pairing each BSM participant with an alumni mentor from Graziadio’s Executive MBA (EMBA) or Presidents and Key Executives (PKE) MBA programs.

Learn More

Mentorship program students

What We Do

Bernice Ledbetter leading discussion at Pepperdine Graziadio Villa Classroom — About Us

Learn more about the Pepperdine CWL and the women behind it.

Student smiling at Pepperdine Graziadio event — Opportunities

Find out how you can benefit from your involvement with the CWL.

Bernice Ledbetter presenting at Pepperdine Waves of Innovation Conference — Our Research

Explore our faculty research initiatives and grant opportunities.

Highlighting Women In Business: Executive In Residence

Pepperdine Graziadio and the Center for Women in Leadership is honored to consistently recognize leading women executives making significant strides in business and entrepreneurship. With our Executive In Residence focus, senior executives can spend meaningful time interacting with students and faculty. Each guest will bring their perspective on business, management, and leadership—drawn from their prolific experience within the business atmosphere.

As a result, students, faculty, and those a part of our community will have an opportunity to gain deep insights and become better versed in the evolving landscape of business and entrepreneurship—ultimately capitalizing on our focus of developing Best for the World Leaders.

Liz Musch

The Center for Women in Leadership is proud to welcome the Spring ‘21 Executive in Residence, Liz Musch, principal for LM Global Advisor. Liz is an accomplished CEO with 25 years' experience leading professional services companies. Her years as a CEO of multinational professional and marketing services companies give her extensive credentials in strategy, marketing, branding, advertising/communications, media/digital, consumer/customer experience, and data analytics in both regulated and unregulated industries across all consumer/branded markets. She has a passion for embedding change in the world of technology, big data analytics, customer focus, and the need for sustainability.

She has lived on three continents and has worked extensively across six continents. She has a history of advising top companies on optimizing growth and stakeholder value across markets, channels, geographies, and business conditions.

The Broader Conversation

Woman climbing wordmark - Pepperdine University

What is the "Confidence Gap"?

When You're Ready, But Not Confident

Studies show that women don't feel prepared to step into their careers due to a lack of confidence. Yet women inherently possess in-demand skills and talents that organizations now seek for contemporary leadership.

Find out how the Pepperdine CWL is working to close this confidence gap with programs outside the classroom.

More About Our Purpose