If there seem to be a dearth of qualified professional women available to hire, the issue might be with your network.
This was one of the chief assessments of Focus Brands' Kat Cole, entrepreneur and investor Swati Mylavarapu, and Empowerment Plan founder and CEO Veronika Scott, who gathered at Forbes' Reinventing AmericaWorkforce Summit on Tuesday to discuss the puzzle many companies are struggling to solve: How to attract and retain professional women in their 20s and 30s.
"I can't tell you how many CEOs call me and say 'I'm looking for a woman on my board. I'm looking for a woman to run my company, and I can't find them.'" said Cole. "What do you mean you can't find them?!"
Recommended For You
Mylavarapu highlighted the self-selecting nature of professional and personal networks, urging people to consider whether they've actively curated their networks as opposed to letting them exist in whatever state they may have naturally grown.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
