Tackling the endowment disparity

With a background in finance and as a coach of women in the workplace, Sarah Whiting Wilson ’01 knows a few things about the gender wage gap.

When she learned that endowments at girls’ schools — including Miss Hall’s — are substantially less than those at boys’ schools, she decided to do something about it. “It’s an important leading indicator of the disparity between opportunities for men and women,” says Sarah, Vice President, Global Finance & Strategy for Tradeshift, a global supply chain company based out of San Francisco.

It also inspired her to join the MHS Heritage Society, which underwrites the School’s endowment.

“I want young women to have the same opportunities as young men,” notes Sarah, who volunteers time and expertise to coach women navigating their careers. She credits MHS with giving her the time and space to discover her inner voice, set her own course, and be confident in her direction.

“The great thing about an all-girl education is the opportunity for girls to focus on what is important to them,” she adds. “I support young women in their education because I want to make sure they have the confidence to ask for what they deserve when they enter the workplace and beyond.”

In the fall of 1995, Miss Hall’s School announced the establishment of the Heritage Society to honor alumnae and friends who remember the School by bequest in their estate plans, or who have made life income gifts.