Forté Impact: Renée Russell

Ren?e Russell
Chevron

While new to her role as a University Recruiting Advisor, Ren?e is already seeing the value of Chevron’s partnership with Fort? – particularly the caliber of Fort?’s pipeline of MBA women.

What is it about Fort?’s mission that you think is so important?
Chevron is committed to advancing women in business, and we offer many programs to help women and other underrepresented groups succeed. Fort? is at the forefront of advancing women, an objective that Chevron shares. Chevron has a rich history of having 40% female representation on our Board and 33% female representation among professionals. We want to build on this success, so collaborating with Fort? is a natural partnership.

Each year companies make decisions about where to invest their time and money. Chevron has been a partner since 2006. Why has Chevron continued saying “yes” each year to renewing the partnership?

When I joined Chevron in 2019, I met with colleagues to discuss each of our recruiting events. When Fort? was mentioned, my colleagues said that we absolutely had to continue our partnership. The word that kept coming up when we discussed the women in the Fort? pipeline – specifically the Fort? Fellows – was “exceptional.” They are beyond prepared, they take initiative, and they take advantage of Fort?’s offerings to be successful.

Sometimes these types of partnerships provide something unexpected. To what extent have you or Chevron experienced something beyond what you expected from Fort??
A recent example is an invitation I received from Fort? for a call with other Partner Advisory Council members to talk about best practices for COVID-19 (coronavirus) planning and the ongoing challenges associated with it. It was very proactive and made me realize that Fort? is a community that goes beyond just “see you at the conference” – it is about helping us deal with challenges and opportunities in a changing world.

If you were chatting with an executive working at a non-Fort? partner, what would you say to convince him or her to consider Fort? as a diversity resource?
I mentioned exceptional earlier – I think the women Fort? attracts are of a very high caliber, and companies that want to boost their diversity representation should take note.

How does Fort? support your goals and priorities?
Representation of women in MBA programs is personally important to me. When I went to law school, the gender ratios were about 50/50, and women ahead of me paved the way. In 2016, the American Bar Association reported that women at law schools surpassed men for the first time. I have two daughters, and we have discussed the possibility of that happening for women in business school. It would be exciting to achieve full representation in MBA programs – I would love to be a part of it, and hopefully it happens when I am at Chevron.

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While new to her role as a University Recruiting Advisor, Ren?e is already seeing the value of Chevron’s partnership with Fort? – particularly the caliber of Fort?’s pipeline of MBA women.

Fort? attracts women of very high caliber, and companies that want to boost their diversity representation should take note.

LET’S DO THIS

Get newsletters and events relevant
to your career by joining Forté.

our sponsors

Forté Impact: Renée Russell

While new to her role as a University Recruiting Advisor, Ren?e is already seeing the value of Chevron’s partnership with Fort? – particularly the caliber of Fort?’s pipeline of MBA women.

Fort? attracts women of very high caliber, and companies that want to boost their diversity representation should take note.

Support Gender Equality

LET’S DO THIS

Get newsletters and events relevant to your career by joining Forté.

our sponsors

Get newsletters and events relevant
to your career by joining Forté.