On March 23, Career Services partnered with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to host a panel discussion with women who are thriving in male-dominated fields.
The panel consisted of four women who were happy to share their experiences in the workplace, their leadership styles and advice for those looking to expand their professional careers.
The panelists included Jawauna Harding, Emily Quinn, Dedra Ibañez and Imani McGill. All are connected to OSU and they are passionate about women feeling like they have a place and belong working in male-dominated fields.
“I need to be in these spaces [the workplace] because I have someone that is another generation, or next year, that'll be here and needs to understand that they can be in these spaces too,” Harding, the associate athletic director of OSU, said. “That's what I have to tell myself as I'm doing this because there's someone else who doesn't think they belong here, who absolutely belongs here.”
Topics such as negotiating salaries when it comes to getting jobs, overcoming self-doubt and advocating for yourself were discussed. Moderator Ramya Chandrashekar, career coordinator for diversity, equity and inclusion, asked the women crucial questions, leading a discussion where viewers were able to learn from them.
Meg Clowers, a sophomore secondary education major with a focus in history and geography, said she has aspirations to become a men’s basketball coach and she took the time to ask the panelists a question of her own during the Q&A at the end of the panel.
“I was very excited to see somebody who was in athletics on the panel because education itself is a pretty female-dominated field so I feel like there are not a lot of barriers there,” Clowers said. “But when you add on coaching, especially a men's sport and then also history, it's mainly men. So it was really nice to see women in education and women in athletics, both here today.”
The tone of the panel was extremely uplifting and encouraging. All of the panelists reminded those who attended that they are capable of doing anything they set their mind to in the workplace.
“Advocate, advocate, advocate all the time,” Ibañez said. “I have had women that have advocated for men and I will continue to advocate for them through mentorship and organizations making sure that their voices are heard and that they know that they need to take that role. You need to go for it.”
“I just know I'm leaving here feeling better, my spirits are higher,” Clowers said.