Reflecting on my freshman year at Baylor, I think about how much joy Her Campus Baylor brought to my life. The message that it is sending to girls all around the world is simply inspiring and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to join such an awesome girl gang. I was lucky enough to interview the three founders of Her Campus, Windsor Hanger Western, Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, and Annie Wang about what it means to be a leader and how they got to this point in their lives. Knowing that they created the idea of Her Campus while undergraduates at Harvard has encouraged girls everywhere to take charge of their own future, including me. Here is what they said about female leadership:
Windsor Hanger Western: Co-Founder, President & Publisher
1. How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?
I think carefully about my goals – both short term and long term – and I envision what it will look like once I have achieved them. Having this clear picture of success in my head motivates me to continue pursuing my goals and passions.
2. What do you believe is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
You can’t be what you can’t see! We need to continue to mentor and develop strong female leaders to set the stage and inspire generations of female leaders to come. Women for instance, represent only 6.6% of Fortune 500 CEOS.
3. What advice would you give to the next generation of women trying to follow their passions and become a leader?
Be confident in your abilities but don’t be afraid to put in the hard work. Things that are worth doing take time and effort – throw your full weight behind your goals and never give up!
4. How do you balance work and personal responsibilities in a healthy way?
It’s important to be very thoughtful with your time – it’s out most limited resource. I have two young children (ages 2 and 4) and being present for them is incredibly important to me. At this stage in their lives, I choose to work from home in order to eliminate any wasted time commuting to an office. It also allows me to pop out of my office and have lunch with them or greet them when they come home from school. I’m very thoughtful and deliberate about what I’m doing with my time – either 100% focused on work or 100% focused on personal responsibilities.
5. Who is one woman who inspires you?
My two business partners Stephanie Kaplan Lewis and Annie Wang inspire me every day with their drive, their determination, and their never-give-up attitudes.
Stephanie Kaplan Lewis: Co-Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief
1. How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?
I truly love what I do, so that makes it easy to stay motivated. I also think about the fact that I want to have every door open for me so that I can make decisions about what I do or don’t want to do, rather than having those decisions made for me because I didn’t work as hard as I could to unlock opportunities.
2. What do you believe is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
I am not sure about the most significant barrier, but I think women need to see more examples of other women in leadership, so that they can have something more specific to strive for.
3. What advice would you give to the next generation of women trying to follow their passions and become a leader?
Do just that — follow your passions, rather than going after a career you feel like you “should” pursue. You will do best when you are working in an area you are passionate about, and there are opportunities in every industry.
4. How do you balance work and personal responsibilities in a healthy way?
I have a 16-month-old daughter named Michaela, and I make sure that when I am with her, I focus completely on her. I also take time to travel, and find time each week to exercise since this makes me feel better overall!
5. Who is one woman who inspires you?
Grethen Carlson! She is a fearless trailblazer. She keynoted Her Conference a couple years ago and was beyond inspiring.
Annie Wang: Co-Founder, CPO & Creative Director
1. How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?
I am very motivated by new challenges, opportunities for innovation, and the hunger and ambition of those around me. I like to focus on what can be done better, what potential the future holds, and what I can do to be a part of the solution. This gives me a lot of forward drive and gets me up in the morning.
2. What do you believe is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
For me, I am my own biggest barrier — personal insecurities of not being “good enough” or “right for the job” that threaten to paralyze or demotivate me. I’ve learned to trust myself a lot more, be more patient with how things will play out, and know that at the end of the day, leadership and growth is a journey!
3. What advice would you give to the next generation of women trying to follow their passions and become a leader?
There’s no education like just getting out there and doing it/trying it/learning/iterating. Just get started! You’ll make mistakes along the way but these lessons are so valuable to get under your belt early on to build experience, confidence, and resilience.
4. How do you balance work and personal responsibilities in a healthy way?
I make it a point to not multi-task if I can, and to give tasks my full attention. This helps me be more efficient and present whether I’m taking care of a responsibility at work or at home!
5. Who is one woman who inspires you?
I am incredibly inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! She has defied all the odds and experienced the kind of personal and professional transformation that shows the rest of us what is possible!
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These three women are the epitome of what it means to be an empowering woman and to be a part of an organization that challenges us to follow our passions is simply amazing. I think we can learn a lot from the founders about what type of leader we can be and start developing our own leadership style. Thank you to the founders and Her Campus as a whole for being such a beautiful representation of how powerful women can be.