Established at the Ross School of Business in 2014 with a gift from Jane Och, BBA/MAcc ’86, and her husband, Daniel Och, the Initiative is open to all students and is intended to foster and cultivate interest in finance careers among female BBA students.
“This initiative is designed to encourage women to explore careers in finance through outreach, education, and engagement — and this initiative is paying great dividends,” Dean Matusik said. “As of this date, we’ve had more than 800 BBAs participate in the initiative since it started, which is just an incredible number. We’ve also doubled the number of female BBA graduates pursuing finance related careers since the initiative started.”
A notable component of the initiative is student treks to financial centers across the United States, which allow Michigan Ross students to interact with women leaders in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Through these interactions, students are given the opportunity to learn about company cultures, gain insights and career advice, and network with women who have pursued careers in finance.
Ann Zhang, BBA ’25, joined the Och Initiative upon enrolling at Ross in order to gain insight into the variety of roles within finance and to meet new people. She joined a trek to New York City, where she had the opportunity to speak with members of several different firms, especially women who shared their stories and advice. She said that the experience on the trek expanded her understanding of the possibilities that finance may hold for her.
