In the first meeting, they expected 15 people to show up — around 50 women joined that day.
Last spring semester, two North Dakota State students started a new organization, Women in Business, to empower women to overcome being outnumbered in some areas of the workplace.
Hannah Lange, a junior majoring in finance and economics, and Samantha Wojcik, a junior majoring in finance, used to be members of the student organization Bison Fund, which is a club that focuses on investments. This organization consisted of around 50 members of mostly men and very few women. When traveling for the organization, they recognized the same network (of mostly men) during the events.
In that organization, they realized they needed to make a change in the industry, which led to the idea of starting Women in Business.
“We just felt very outnumbered,” Lange explained. “We couldn’t really be ourselves because we didn’t have any other women around.”
Now that Women in Business is a running organization, there are 70 members registered. The mission of the new organization is stated as “to create a community of women who inspire and support each other in their careers.”
“In order for us to overcome the challenges that we face in the workplace, we have to create a community and help each other and support each other because we can’t do it on our own,” Lange said.
They have speakers who discuss resume building, career paths, interviewing and, overall, a new support system for any challenges women could endure during their opportunities.
“There are many situations women must face while being a woman working in a business that men would not have to experience, and I think it is important to learn about these things and how to respond to them now,” Wojcik explained.
Today’s society tends to focus on negative aspects or challenges as well as bring down others. “In a society that is so focused on bringing others down, we wanted to create a group focused on lifting each other up,” Wojcik said.
Both Lange and Wojcik focused on how there are still negative perceptions of working women, but that women can help the organization or business in a way others cannot. “Women bring such a different perspective into the workplace and into any organization that they’re a part of,” Lange explained.
“Women bring a new perspective and insight on different issues at hand,” Wojcik supported. “Women and men think very differently, and adding this diversity in their workforce is beneficial to any company.”
“I think if we all come together we can really change the dynamic of the business field in general.”
-Hannah Lange, Co-President of Women in Business
The community has been supportive of their newly founded organization. Many professionals have approved of their organization while others have spoken to their organization. Some are even willing to be involved in the future. Lange explained how this organization has created a connection between NDSU and the community by bringing women in to speak about business and leadership.
Those involved are of all majors. As of right now, their members consist of all women, but they encourage men to join as well because the information is beneficial to both sexes. Men will also be able to hear about challenges that women face in the workplace to help spread more awareness.
The co-presidents agreed on having high hopes for their organization. “We then want to take this community of women in business at NDSU and further develop that community with business professionals in the Fargo-Twin Cities area,” Wojcik said.
For more information, visit the MyNDSU NDSU College of Business or NDSU Women in Business Facebook or Instagram page.