When I entered John Carroll University and decided to declare a business major, I knew that I would be in the minority—especially when I declared my major as finance. As I was sitting in a study room in the library last night, trying to learn intermediate microeconomics the night before my exam, I truly noticed the gender gap. In one of the little study rooms there were no less than twelve people shoved into this tiny space. As I was debating whether to go get a cup of coffee, go to sleep, or pull an all-nighter, I looked around the room. I was there with only two other women. Of the twelve or thirteen people in the room, only three were women.
As we all sat there it finally hit me that I was in the minority. So are all the other women in the economics and finance department. We, along with all of the women pursuing business degrees, are what I like to call bad business bitches. Triple B’s are women who are fighting to succeed in a man’s world, because unfortunately men still dominate the business world. We are the women fighting for a change. We are paving the way and setting an example for the future women who want to break the gender barrier.
Women studying business face challenges that men don’t. We are inherently seen as weaker and in some cases less competent. Women are judged based on how they look. We cant wear skirts that are “too short” or heels that are “too high”. Men are not given talks about what they can or can’t wear. Although their business professional attire is more uniform than women, starting in the interview process women are judged based on an entirely different standard. Being a woman in business is difficult, but in the end the pain is worth it.
When going through my classes I do my best, not only because I want to have a successful future career, but also because I want to prove to people in the world that women can be just as successful in the business world. Women are disgustingly underrepresented in the business world and I think this is something that can be improved. Ladies, we can do this. We can study economics at the same capacity as any man can. Don’t let the gender standards affect what you want to study, or what you want to do. We are all capable of doing whatever we want. So ladies when you walk into your job interviews or your class, just remember that you are just as capable and deserving as every man in that class.
Being a woman in business is still slightly unorthodox, which in the 21st century is a little disappointing to say the least. Living my day-to-day life is not much different from those women who have declared other majors; it is the little things that set my day apart from women in other disciplines. When I look around my classes and I notice that there is a huge gap in the number of women and the number of men. Hopefully one day in the future the gap between the two genders will close, and women will feel more empowered to choose a major in a field that is historically male dominant.