The London Business School has announced plans to launch a business centre for women following a £1.75m sponsorship commitment over five years from investment bank, Lehman Brothers.
The Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business will aim to provide solutions for the challenges that businesses face in attracting and retaining talented women.
The centre will support women at every level, from the time they apply to business school through to their careers as team-members, entrepreneurs, managers and senior executives.
As the centre develops, it may explore the ways in which business school curricula can be enhanced to ensure that women have the competitive training and global experience necessary to reach the highest executive levels.
Although thought leadership and research will be the centre's primary focus, it will also act as a catalyst to encourage wider international debate by inviting leading industry practitioners and academics from across the globe to participate in the centre's work.
"The Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business will bring together academic theory and real life practice in the crucial area of gender diversity and the recognition of women's importance in the workplace," said Laura Tyson, Dean of London Business School.
"As attracting, retaining and promoting talented women becomes an increasingly pressing challenge for business, it is important to ensure that there is a dynamic interface between intellectual thought and industry practice."