Empowering Young Leaders: Business, Entrepreneurship, Economics and Finance Curriculum for Girls in School

Gender stereotypes and roles are learned early on; that’s why it’s essential to disassemble such stereotypes and to limit beliefs while girls are young. Strong messages to girls that they can pursue, achieve and attain their goals are vital. This messaging permits girls to dream without barriers and ensures that future generations can break glass ceilings for gender-balanced workplaces. 

Curriculum in business - through our Center for Entrepreneurship, Economics & Finance Department - teaches young women the skills to become future leaders and CEOs and affirms that high-level business and finance opportunities are open to them. Through access to education and encouraging girls to engage in subject areas such as business or finance, we empower girls and women to reach for their professional dreams in any field.

Benefits of Business, Entrepreneurship, Economics, and Finance Curriculum for Girls

A business, entrepreneurship, economics, and finance curriculum will empower girls throughout their lives. These curriculums teach students critical skills that will carry them through professional careers and enhance personal decision-making.

1. Communication and Organizational Skills - Women who study business, entrepreneurship, economics, and finance have the distinct advantage of practicing writing reports, summaries, and pitches. Educated women are prepared with invaluable critical thinking skills. They are equipped to defend a point of view, make a decision and understand the consequences. These communication and organizational talents give girls a head up on the competition when interviewing for jobs.

2. Financial Management Skills - A basic understanding of financial management empowers women entering the workforce to go into fields in business or finance. Basic accounting and risk management are sought-after skills by employers. Women who learn how to make sound decisions regarding debt and borrowing will have the edge over those who have less practice in this. Also, women knowledgeable about markets and investing in stocks and bonds will have greater job opportunities.

3. Negotiation Skills - Financial management skills can also help women negotiate higher salaries before accepting jobs, setting them up for success later in life. “By not negotiating a first salary, an individual stands to lose more than $500,000 by age 60—and men are more than four times as likely as women to negotiate a first salary.’’ Negotiation skills are critical to girls for future gender equity in the workplace.

4. Leadership Skills - The business, entrepreneurship, economics, and finance curriculum also teaches leadership skills. Girls who have education in these curriculums are more prepared to take on project management roles with greater ease. The experience they gain early in school and familiarity with business challenges and management and problem-solving will serve them in future roles. They learn interpersonal skills, time management, and how to handle deadline-driven work environments.

5. Ethical Decision Making - Women with education in business and finance are more versed in business ethics and work to ensure that businesses comply with state and federal standards for ethics. Ethical companies fare better with consumers, thereby raising a brand and product’s value in the marketplace. A study by OpenText found that “nine in ten global consumers want to buy products sourced in a responsible and sustainable way, and 83% would pay more for goods that are ethically produced.”

6. Empowering Entrepreneurs - Entrepreneurship and finance education is ideal for young women who want to start their own businesses. They will likely thrive in business with a solid strategy, management, finance, and accounting skills. Such a skill set will give them greater confidence to launch businesses successfully and ask for funding. According to a 2021 article in the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), Urban Mobility, “Female-led startups are more successful, show a higher return on invested capital, and are built in a more sustainable way. In spite of this, only around 3% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in Europe was secured by women, and all-male founder teams received 90,8% of all capital raised.” Luckily things can change, and there’s room for more women at the top.

About WMA

Wilbraham & Monson Academy is an independent, college-preparatory, coeducational middle and upper school for boarding and day students. Located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, our student body of 400 students represents more than 35 countries.WMA is proud of its strong entrepreneurial and financial curriculums that are creating tomorrow’s leaders.

At Wilbraham & Monson Academy, girls are encouraged to enroll in entrepreneur and finance curriculums. Courses include Financial Planning, Portfolio Management, Stock Market Analysis, and Entrepreneurship (regular, global, and social). Other classes include Behavioral Finance, Student Investment Seminar, and two AP Economics (macroeconomics and microeconomics).

Our Center for Entrepreneurship, Economics & Finance (CEEF) provides introductory and advanced courses for students along with the opportunity to apply foundation concepts to explore and learn real-world, critical thinking skills in entrepreneurship, economics, and finance. Students learn key financial concepts, investment tools, and the foundation to build an investment portfolio as they increase their knowledge of financial literacy and global economics.

Entrepreneurship courses teach students how to think and act like entrepreneurs. Through their coursework, they will plan, implement and evaluate real programs, including for-profit and non-profit organizations, furthering their business skills and acumen.

We offer clubs such as FEB Society (Financial, Entrepreneurship & Business), where creative thinkers build small businesses from scratch using skills learned in their coursework.