Campus organization invites successful business-women to share insights
On Monday, Nov. 11, the Guelph Commerce Women in Business (GCWIB) society hosted a symposium in the University Centre called “Building Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Empowering Women to Lead and Succeed.”
Five female guest speakers, each having prospered in their respective field of business, were invited recall how they came to succeed in this male-dominated sphere.
Though they would have been difficult to predict at the outset, some common themes emerged as the night went on, such as: not knowing where your career will take you, finding lifelong role models, and continuously learning.
The work-life balance was another prominent theme, and each speaker acknowledged the trade-offs between career and family.
After her divorce, Anna Sgro, now the Senior Vice-President of Sales at Richie Brothers Auctioneers, recalled asking herself, “Is this a time when I need to step back, spend some time with my children?” Her answer: “No way. Because of the circumstances that surrounded me, I had to get on my feet and start to build an even bigger dream for myself. What I really wanted to do was not only build a career for myself but provide my children with the greatest opportunity.”
Speakers also discussed the pervasive problem of being taken less seriously because of their gender, even as they continued to climb the corporate ladder.
“I found myself sitting in boardroom meetings and my opinion never counting,” said Sgro. “I almost felt that sometimes I would say things and then another man in the room would say the same thing and everyone in the room would go ‘Oh yeah, that’s a great idea.’”
Not taking those slights personally was the moral of that story – working harder than the rest and making sure that your efforts speak for themselves being the surest path.
“On the whole,” echoed Joan Fisk, who currently sits on several boards, “business itself is about quality and character, education and mentoring. If you succeed in the work, you won’t be considered male or female, you’ll be considered the candidate.”
There were a few points on which speakers diverged, however. Some emphasized the importance of doing what you love, while others said that satisfaction comes from succeeding at whatever it is you do.
Guelph Commerce Women in Business (GCWIB) is a new organization on campus that, according to the creators, aims to “empower young professional women to dream bigger and feel more confident about achieving their ambitions.”
The organization was co-founded by senior students from the College of Management and Economics, Kiran Puri and Shwetha Chandrashekhar. This was their first major event.
“We had some people come up to us and say it was truly inspiring and that’s exactly what we started off trying to achieve,” said Puri.
Mona Auervuolle, a commerce student who attended the event said, “I’m really interested in powerful women in business… So it’s a big inspiration to see women who are successful in their careers.