FAQ

Yes. To facilitate funding, MSWoB is collaborating with FUNED, a Mexican non-profit organization that provides educational loans and financial support. FUNED can offer loans to cover participation in MSWoB. For more information: please visit: https://www.funedmx.org/women-on-boards/# or contact Marimar García.

Given the high demand for the program, any cancellations must be received no later than 30 days before the program starts to be eligible for a refund. Participants who cancel less than 30 days before the program starts will not receive a refund but are eligible to participate in a future cohort.

Quality of background and relevant experience are the most important criteria for selection. The Admissions Committee will consider applications from MIT alumnae as an additional but not decisive factor.

Data suggests that nearly 90% of Latin American corporate board selections are made informally, without retained searches. Our focus is on helping women succeed in that process. Nevertheless, insights into the retained search process and preparing for a board search generally are important to our participants’ success. MSWoB partners with search professionals in Roundtable, networking and Action Phase activities.

Yes. Building a community of participants connected to each other is a major MSWoB goal. 
Our first cohort considers this a major strength of the program. We also acknowledge the importance of informal networks in current board selection processes. We will thus host larger networking events with Decisionmakers, Promoters, mentors, current directors, and others influential in the selection process, such as lawyers and search professionals. These will continue into the Action Phase after graduation. 

English. 

Written and spoken fluency in English is important for program success. While the admissions process attempts to evaluate fluency, we ask each applicant to candidly self-assess their English fluency. It is essential for both individual and cohort program success.

Each course has 4 sessions of 90 minutes each.

There are no tests or assessments. Each professor will have a different approach to preparation: there may be pre-readings or assignments ahead of the course sessions. Participants are responsible for attending and mastering the course content.

Not at this time.

The target profile for our participants is senior women with 12+ years of professional work experience, 7+ years of leadership/management experience, with current capacity and passion to commit to corporate board service. Building a cohort with experience and seniority requirements allows MSWoB to focus its content on issues of shared relevance across the cohort.

To create a cohort of experienced senior professionals, all participants should possess the financial acumen required to comprehend and assess corporate financial statements. This implies operating comfort with the fundamental accounting and financial principles necessary for oversight and strategy-setting purposes.

Yes. MIT will be able to provide letters of invitation for visas for program participants. Participants must meet all requirements of the US State Department. 

Participants are responsible for arranging travel to Boston. Accommodation at a hotel near MIT as well as most meals will be provided.  

Note: MIT is not responsible for medical expenses incurred by participants during the Roundtable. Participants should have medical insurance with valid coverage in the US.

Mentors are experienced local business professionals with relevant board experience. Participants express their preferences in the matching process. For example, Mentors come from different operating and sector backgrounds and have served on various profiles of boards. Both men and women serve as Mentors.

Promoters fill the role that typically happens in board selections today:  peers consult with one another to identify a “trusted” individual known to them through existing, often informal, friendships and ties. 

The Promoter is a peer of Decisionmakers who can provide the additional color and context that ensures “fit” with a board’s culture.  Promoters are particularly well-respected business leaders committed to advancing new channels of board talent and increasing board effectiveness.

No. 

Even for women with distinguished experience and background, including successful completion of MSWoB, the board search process is difficult, opaque, and can be long.  We are committed, with many other initiatives in Latin America today, to improving the odds for women in that search.