It’s back! FSU is holding its fourth annual Women in Leadership Conference. On Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at 4 p.m. in the Turnbull Conference Center. CEO’s, Directors, Presidents and Vice Presidents of a number of different organizations and companies will be gathering with the women of FSU. Each of these leaders are women who have faced obstacles in getting to their current positions simply because they are women. This is precisely why this event is being held; these women want to share what these obstacles were and how exactly other women can overcome similar struggles. This event is vital to women seeking long term success in business, school and other areas of life.
The conference is broken up into three sections: an Opening Panel, a Breakout Panel and a Workshop Session. The Opening Panel features women who are well-versed and prominent in all-things leadership. Laura Osteen, for example, is the Director of the Center for Leadership and Social Change at FSU. Osteen works to educate students on leadership skills as well as help students find out what they are meant to do in life. She works to empower the students she comes in contact with. Who better to help open up a conference that works towards doing exactly that?
There are five different sections of the Breakout Panels and each panel offers a different focus. There will be a ‘Women in Entrepreneurship’ panel that focuses on how women can get started with their ideas for a business or company. The ‘Women in Education and STEM’ panel is geared towards those who want to make a difference in education or pursue higher education. The ‘Women in Government’ panel is particularly exciting because one of the speakers is none other than Congresswoman Gwen Graham, who will be sharing what obstacles she has faced. The ‘Women in Community Service and Philanthropy’ panel will attempt to reach those who want to help others. The final and largest panel is the ‘#LeanIn panel’. The goal of this panel is rooted in Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell’s book called Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead. The book and accompanying movement essentially aims to help women achieve their goals.
The Workshop session is also broken up into five different sections. The sections are as follows: Startups and Innovation, Developing Student Leaders, Personal Branding and Effective Networking, Diversity in Leadership and lastly, a section for men to speak as partners. Each section aims to offer women specific ways in which they should handle obstacles and struggles they will face.
This event is the perfect way for women on campus to ask questions and gain insight as to how they can achieve their goals. The wonderful thing is that the answers are coming directly from women who made it! The speakers overcame obstacles, despite the simple fact that they are women, and they can help others to do the same. Over sixty speakers will be there to help the women of FSU achieve their goals. Ultimately, this conference wants to empower women and educate them on the obstacles that they will face but also how to beat these challenges.