By Kameron Brooke | Reporter
Baylor’s Women in Business organization is comprised of students willing to play the entrepreneurship game regardless of whether men outnumber them in the field. The organization was created in 2006 as a way to foster community among women in the business school.
“The organization as a whole has a mission of promoting professional development and building community,” Garland senior Carissa Padilla said.
Padilla said there are more women than men in the business school — with a ratio of about 70 to 30 — so Women in Business strives to build a tight-knit community “where women can support each other.”
Padilla is studying supply chain management and marketing in the Hankamer School of Business. However, she said she wants to emphasize that Women in Business is open to all majors, as it is important for all people to understand business and how to function in the business world.
Oley, Pa., freshman Charlotte Fisher said she discovered Women in Business through Instagram.
“I thought it was a really cool program, and I decided to join,” Fisher said. “And now, I’m on the social committee.”
In Fisher’s time on the social committee, she said they hosted a fashion show in which the executive board dressed up to highlight the differences between business attire and business casual attire.
“The events help you learn about business, but you also have fun,” Fisher said.
Fisher said she has not declared her concentration yet, but both her parents own businesses.
“I grew up watching them grow their business,” Fisher said. “And I knew I wanted to go into marketing when I helped my mom pick out which sprinkles to put on her cookies, and the sprinkles I picked ended up making the cookies sell better.”
The organization recently had a surge in membership, going from 250 to 400 members in one year. There is one mandatory meeting each semester and three events each month that vary among professional, social and service.
Fisher said being a woman in business can present its challenges.
“It can be intimidating because I feel like people don’t take you as seriously, so it’s nice to have this group of girls who can build you up, because this is not just a man’s job,” Fisher said. “We have a mentorship program; they have an upperclassman who has the same track as you give you advice and tell you what classes to take, what professors to have and how to balance school with social life.”
More women are entering the business world and changing it, according to an article from Lever.
“Women are trained to reach leadership positions the way men reach leadership positions, but I believe the contract of leadership will change,” vice president of marketing Ashley Levesque said. “Future leaders being trained to emulate men will be trained to emulate women.”
Padilla said Women in Business has events on the horizon that those interested in joining should look out for.
“We’re doing Steppin’ Out, but last month, we did Project Linus and made blankets,” Padilla said. “There is a formal event at the end of the year where we try to serve the Waco community as well.”
Women in Business provides training, workshops and speaker events to equip women for whatever they may need in the future, Padilla said.
“For women in business, I want to see them be so confident in who they are and from the inside out too — confident in how they look, how they speak and dress,” Padilla said. “I want them to know they are capable of doing anything.”
