Latin America in Spotlight at UCLA Anderson: MBA News

Growing foreign investment, an expanding middle class and the role of women in leadership were key topics on Friday, as UCLA Anderson School of Management held its annual Latin American Business Conference.

"Any assessment of Latin American markets must recognize the complexities of the histories, politics and economies of the region," UCLA Anderson’s dean, Judy Olian, said in a press release announcing the event’s aims.

This year’s conference focused on three areas of Latin America’s development from a business perspective – namely, the societal demands of the region’s expanding middle class, the globalization of its companies and the state of organizational and government leadership – particularly with regards to the experiences of women in business, two days ahead of March 8’s International Women’s Day.   

Prior to giving her keynote address at the event, the US ambassador to Brazil, Liliana Ayalde, emphasized the importance of Latin America’s largest economy and most populous nation:

“To be a player in today’s global market, you have to be a player in Brazil,” Ayalde said. “We have seen real growth in foreign investment, especially with Brazilian firms doing business in the US.”

Female representation as heads of state not matched by women in business

It was noted that Latin America has a particularly strong record in appointing female heads of state – according to UCLA Anderson, eight of the 29 women elected as heads of state around the world since 1970 have come from the region. However this does not necessarily translate over to the experiences of women in business.

“We see more female presidents in Latin America than in any other region in the world. At the same time, there remains a large gap in gender in the private sector – Latin American women remain underrepresented in business,” said UCLA Anderson MBA students and co-presidents of the conference, John Paul Fischer and Bruno Guzman.

However, at the event’s panel discussion on the subject of women in business, Argentina’s ambassador to the US, Cecilia Nahón, pointed to the fact that women now make up 55% of college graduates in the country as grounds for optimism over the future.

Of course, equality at college level is just one step towards creating an environment where women in business can aspire to and achieve the same levels of success as men, as this article details. Another speaker at the event meanwhile, Fernanda Vicente, president and cofounder of Mujeres del Pacifico alluded to the issue of gender bias in saying: “we need to better educate our men to support the success of women in business.”

UCLA Anderson’s annual Latin American Business Conference is co-organized by the school’s Center for Global Management and its student-run club for MBAs, faculty and alumni with an interest in the region, the Latin American Business Association (LABA).