A Career Devoted to Gender Equity

Carey Business School Dean’s Advisory Council chair shares the importance of women in leadership roles

Jenny Morgan spent more than three decades building successful, growth-oriented health care and information technology (IT) companies, while bringing attention to gender disparity. She retired as president and CEO of Bridgeway Benefit Technologies in 2023. But to Morgan, her most important title is Mom. As a working mother throughout her career, Morgan fostered an inclusive culture, promoting a family-friendly perspective in to her businesses.

“Women bring a different viewpoint into the workplace,” says Morgan, Bus ’86 (MAS). “If a woman wants to have a family, there’s a premise that she’s choosing between her career and her family. I believe you don’t have to choose.”

The benefits of a diverse working environment are why Morgan supports the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Gender and Work Initiative. The initiative launched in December 2024 and is dedicated to advancing gender equity at work.

“We have to learn the root causes of why there is gender inequality,” explains Morgan, who also chairs Carey’s Dean’s Advisory Council. “I’m excited to see what the research bears and the strategies needed to help move the needle for women.”

We spoke with Morgan about her giving, her accomplished career, and the value of women in leadership roles.

You have served on Carey’s Dean’s Advisory Council since 2015 and were recently appointed chair. Why did you want to serve on the council?

I’ve been successful in business, and I attribute that to the Carey Business School. I believe the prestige of having a Johns Hopkins degree enhanced my professional career. I want to pay it forward and help the next generation of students.

I’m proud of the Carey Business School’s ability to attract and enroll a higher percentage of women candidates than legacy business school programs. It speaks volumes to the progressive nature of the school and its commitment to fostering women in leadership roles.

Why do you want to focus your philanthropy on the Carey Business School and support the new Gender and Work Initiative?

I want to help foster women in leadership roles. I have sponsored Carey’s Executive Education program and The Academy for Women and Leadership. Women bring a special set of qualities to leadership roles. Women tend to be more empathetic and have a more holistic view, particularly as they work with both their customers and employees — there’s a sensitivity.

The Gender and Work Initiative will research the complex causes of gender disparity and why women perhaps feel they can’t rise to the upper levels. The research will articulate the causes and formulate best practices. We need to understand the multiple facets and find pragmatic ways to move forward. I strongly believe that you can’t deal with these issues with a sledgehammer, meaning there isn’t going to be this massive program where a company has to introduce several things at once. You start by peeling off one issue at a time and begin to make incremental changes.

What advice do you have for the next generation of Carey students who want to support inclusivity in business?

If you are in a position, build a culture that supports families. It’s not just for women, but women tend to take the primary role in their families. People are not robots; they have various needs. Women can have a career and family. Prioritization will change time to time, but I don’t believe a woman who wants to have a successful career has to make that decision between a career or a family.

For men, it’s important to have conversations, be more sensitive to colleagues, and provide flexibility. There needs to be an environment where women aren’t excluded. A diverse environment will bring positive results to companies.

As you reflect back on your career as a growth CEO, what are your proudest accomplishments?

I loved working with companies and helping them grow within what I call the ‘teamwork of my executive team.’ We had a mission to grow and scale our businesses, which meant to me making sure people had an income. My pride was growing businesses, seeing those businesses grow, and seeing the people in the businesses grow their career.

I also served on the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond for six years. I joined right at the beginning of the Great Recession. To watch how the Federal Reserve responded to the banking crisis and all the work the Fed did to keep our economy from collapsing was remarkable. I’m very proud of my time working with the Fed during that period.

But I’m most proud that I’ve raised a family as well as a career. I hope I can be an example that you can do both. I want to underscore, particularly to young women in the beginning of their career, you don’t have to sacrifice one or the other.