"Gender IDEAL envisions a future of work that is inclusive, diverse, and equal in access and leadership (IDEAL). I am passionate about pushing for gender and racial equity, especially in the workplace, and Gender IDEAL was a perfect fit for me.

Gender IDEAL is an early-stage startup, and as a solo founder, Flory (founder and CEO of Gender IDEAL and my boss) needed a lot of help. During the summer, I was an intern for strategy and development. My work consisted of helping define the startup’s (1) strategic plan (ways to raise funds, client recruitment, strategies for scaling and partnership); (2) communications approach (website design, content development, social media management, PowerPoint presentation); and (3) product development (designing benchmark and recommendation reports, designing data visualization, conducting analysis of data and creation of recommendations).

Working at BCG (Boston Consulting Group) and studying as an MBA at Columbia Business School gave a skillset that allowed me to take a strategic, business-oriented approach to this project. I used my PowerPoint presentation skills to prepare a pitch deck and design the company’s website. I applied concepts learned in CBS courses such as Launching Social Ventures to define the most appropriate type of funding and partnership for Gender IDEAL. I also put the theoretical knowledge from courses such as Strategy and Marketing into practice.

I’m happy that I was able to provide this new lens to a recently funded nonprofit. On the one hand, it helped to “professionalize” Gender IDEAL (facilitating the raise of funds and interest of corporations/client acquisition) and, on the other hand, it also allowed me to use these skills to do good/help bigger causes.

During my internship, I faced two main challenges. The first one, virtuality. Due to COVID-19, my whole internship was done through Zoom. I was never able to meet my boss in person, and even though we are all now more used to working from home, I would have liked to share a room with Gender IDEAL’s amazing team. The second challenge was the lack of budget. Coming from the for-profit/corporate world, I was used to having almost unlimited resources (such as production to help with design of PowerPoint presentations, industry experts to provide insight on specific areas, etc). This was the first time that I worked at a nonprofit startup, and it was hard to me to change my working habits and adapt to doing “everything myself”

I learned a lot from this experience, I grew both personally and professionally. Working in Gender IDEAL helped me realize how strong my passion and desire to help organizations become more diverse, inclusive, and equitable (DEI) are. It also gave me access to a network of amazing people who dedicate their lives to this noble cause. During the internship, I had the honor of being a guest speaker at the Wisconsin Women in Sustainability annual conference. There, I was able to speak about our gender equity goals and get a lot of exposure. However, what I valued the most about that experience was the inspiring professional women that I met. Participating in that conference (though Gender IDEAL) allowed me to build a strong network of women who care deeply about the same social issues that I do and who dedicate their lives to this noble cause. I was deeply touched by this experience. So much so, that I have decided that instead of going back to my consulting job at BCG, after Business School I will start my own consulting firm to help organizations better address their DEI issues. This life-changing decision was inspired by this eye opening experience, which wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Columbia Business School and the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise. I am tremendously grateful for this program and the amazing summer experience it allowed me to have. I highly recommend the Social Enterprise Summer Fellowship Program if you are interested in doing something impactful and inspiring during the summer, while helping to create a better world."