News from the Jane M Klausman Women in Business Scholarship Committee

Women have made great strides in the pursuit of education, careers and leadership roles they were once denied. However, they still comprise a minority of leaders in the business world. Women hold nearly 34% of committee chairs in the S&P 500 and hold 31% of director seats, as of March 2023. Only 8.2% of S&P 500 company CEOs are women.

Because Zonta International believes in gender equality, the Jane M. Klausman (JMK) Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom. The Zonta Foundation for Women awarded the first Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarships in 1998 to women pursuing degrees in business leading to a business management career. Jane M. Klausman was a member of the Zonta Club of Syracuse, New York, USA, and the 1990-1995 Zonta International Parliamentarian. During her career, Ms. Klausman was a professional secretary, parliamentarian and entrepreneur.

The program operates at the Zonta club, district/region and international levels. Zonta International offers 37 international scholarships of US$5,000. Each district/region may submit one applicant for consideration for an international scholarship. The five largest districts may submit a second applicant for a total of two applicants.

Since the program’s inception, Zonta has awarded 750 scholarships, totaling more than US$2 million, to 596 women representing 74 countries.

At the 2024 Zonta International Convention it was determined that as from 2026 this Scholarship will be renamed the Women in Business Scholarship.  Details will be made available when determined by Zonta International.

For further information on this scholarship click here.  You will need to be logged in to the Zonta International website (separate log in to access this material.