SCHOLARSHIP DESCRIPTION
Women have made great strides in the pursuit of education, careers and leadership roles they were once denied. However, they still comprise a minority of leaders in the business world. As of December 2020, 21.2% of S&P 500 companies’ board seats are occupied by women, and just 6% of the companies’ CEOs are women.
Because Zonta International believes in gender equality, the Jane M. Klausman (JMK) Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom. The Zonta Foundation for Women awarded the first Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarships in 1998 to women pursuing degrees in business leading to a business management career. Jane M. Klausman was a member of the Zonta Club of Syracuse, New York, USA, and the 1990-1995 Zonta International Parliamentarian. During her career, Ms. Klausman was a professional secretary, parliamentarian and entrepreneur.
The program operates at the Zonta club, district/region and international levels. Zonta International offers 37 international scholarships of US$5,000. Each district/region may submit one applicant for consideration for an international scholarship. The five largest districts may submit a second applicant for a total of two applicants.
Since the program’s inception, Zonta has awarded 676 scholarships, totaling more than US$1.6 million, to 522 women representing 66 countries.
ELIGIBILITY
Women of any age, pursuing a business program with major field of specialization in accounting, economics, finance, business management, business technology, information technology, marketing, operations management, human resources management, international business, or entrepreneurship at an accredited university/college/institute, who demonstrate outstanding potential in the field and are living or studying in a Zonta district/region, are eligible. Online students are also eligible to apply if enrolled at an accredited university/college/institute.
Students must be enrolled in at least the second year of an undergraduate program through the final year of a master’s program at the time the application is submitted to the local Zonta club. Applicants must be in school at the time the scholarship funds are disbursed and must not graduate before April 2023. Previous district and international Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship recipients may not apply to renew the Scholarship for a second year.
Club members and individuals with direct membership with Zonta International and employees of Zonta International and Zonta Foundation for Women, and their family members (ancestors, descendants, adoptees, siblings, nieces or cousins, and those of their spouse or co-habiting partner), are not eligible to apply for the Scholarship.
Golden Z club members are eligible to apply.
The deadline to apply for the 2022 Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship has passed. The 2023 application materials will be available in January 2023.
FUNDING
Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarships are made possible by generous contributions from Zontians, Zonta clubs and friends of Zonta to the Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship Fund.
SCHOLARS
2021 JMK Scholars | PDF
2021 JMK Scholars’ Bios | PDF
International Recipients
Ngozi Udeh, District 3, USA
Courtney Jentz, District 6, USA
Chido Shamuyarira, District 7, Zimbabwe
Linh Tran, District 20, Vietnam and Finland
Ruby Shah, District 25, Nepal
Laura Ufer, District 28, Germany
District/Region Recipients
Lisa Olsson, District 1, Sweden
Shivani Patel, District 2, USA
Jacqueline Chung, District 4, Canada
Cassidy Yatsko, District 5, USA
Madina Bizhanova, District 8, Kazakhstan
Allison Dupre, District 9, USA
Alejandra Maldonado, District 10, USA
Vivien Santa, District 11, Hungary
Danielle Wallace, District 12, USA
Laura Steinke, District 14, Germany
Makaella Caruth, District 15, USA
Rachael Bright, District 16, New Zealand
Sze Ngo Lee, District 17, Hong Kong
Namona Traore, District 18, Senegal
Guadalupe Oliver, Region South America, Argentina and Spain
Golzar Daneshzad, District 21, Iran
Yung-Ching Chuang, District 22, Republic of China (Taiwan) and Australia
Tayla Ayling, District 23, South Africa
Sarah Sparke, District 24, Australia
Kaat Lambrechts, District 27, Belgium
Marit de Ridder, District 29, Netherlands
Yana Hristova, District 30, Bulgaria and United Kingdom
Ching Chang, District 31, Republic of China (Taiwan)
Wonhee Seo, District 32, South Korea
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, please email programs@zonta.org.
