With Fall Break just around the corner, everyone on the Hill is finally settling into the new academic year. It’s hard to believe we are already this far into the semester! Time flies on the Hill.
The Piper Center has already collaborated with a number of Oles about their résumés, internships, applications, and interviews. Our office is always bustling with motivated and inquisitive students! Bearing witness to the steady commotion in the office, I was shocked during a meeting with Branden Grimmet, the director of the Piper Center, when he reported that the male to female ratio of students who have entered our office this fall and who sought professional advice is heavily skewed. Male students participating in programs offered by the Piper Center have significantly outnumbered female students in the past month.
Grimmett hypothesized that this may be a result of the focus of the current programs being promoted by the Piper Center. In the fall, the office promotes on-campus recruiting by large corporations, because they begin to hire before all other professional sectors. Positions for these businesses often attract students with degrees in Economics or Management. These degrees are commonly held by male students seeking corporate leadership positions. Grimmett went on to express his concern about the lack of females pursuing leadership positions in the business sector. The female perspective is a valuable and crucial element to a successful business. In order to appeal to the masses, a company needs a diverse community of employees who are able to advocate for their perspective and opinions. Additionally, Grimmett pondered the fact that the Piper Center has seen significantly higher numbers of international female students than domestic female students utilizing the services offered by the office. What message is our culture in the United States sending to our females that is disengaging them from the motivation to seek leadership positions?
This question is broad and complicated. As a Women’s and Gender Studies major I am confronted with similar debacles on daily basis. I frequently find myself reverting back to the film that inspired my passion for gender equality: MissRepresentation. This award-winning documentary touches on several contemporary gender equality issues and hones in on women in leadership positions, and how our society disrespects and misrepresents them. The film opened my eyes to the inequalities that shape my daily life and inspired me to become passionate about gender equality in the media. I recommend the film to everyone; you don’t have an excuse- it’s on NETFLIX!
In the meantime, the Piper Center is looking forward to seeing all of you bright Oles walk in our office doors! There are thousands of opportunities waiting to be discovered. And to all my Ole sisters out there: Be bold, be brilliant and go for the gold!