Diversity Expert to Deliver Candid Talk on Women and Ambition at Tulane University

Jennifer W. Allyn, a managing director in the Office of Diversity for PricewaterhouseCoopers, will come to Tulane University to discuss women and ambition in a special interactive lecture co-sponsored by the Louisiana Chapter of the International Women"s Forum.

“A Candid Conversation About Women and Ambition” is scheduled for noon on Wed., Oct. 21, in Room 131 of Goldring/Woldenberg Hall on Tulane University"s uptown campus. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the A. B. Freeman School of Business, the Newcomb College Institute, the Tulane Chapter of the National Association of Women MBAs and the Tulane Office of Institutional Equity.

Allyn"s presentation will cover topics including leadership, retaining and advancing women, differences between men and women regarding ambition, and factors that can promote – or undermine – ambition in executives.

As an executive and thought leader promoting diversity initiatives, Allyn is responsible for designing programs to retain, develop and advance women and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered professionals. Allyn has been recognized as an expert on gender and work/life challenges. She is a frequent public speaker and has been quoted in over 30 publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CFO, and U.S. News & World Report. Among her many accomplishments, Allyn spearheaded the enhancement of PricewaterhouseCoopers" parental leave policy and launched Full Circle, a program designed to assist parents resume their careers after taking an extended period of time off from work. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been recognized as a best-in-class employer by Catalyst, Working Mother, Diversity Inc., Out & Equal and Fortune.

Prior to joining PwC, Allyn was a senior consultant at Catalyst, where she advised a diverse group of Fortune 500 clients, among them PricewaterhouseCoopers. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Women"s Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Corporate Council of The White House Project, and the Advisory Board of the National Council for Research on Women. In 2008, she received the Crossing Borders Award from the Feminist Press. Allyn is a graduate of Brown University and earned her master"s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.