Speaker series empowers women in business
The highly anticipated Utah Women and Leadership Project hosted its first webinar in their Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series on Jan. 8. This series is linked to the MSLE 3890 Women in Business class offered at Utah State University.
The first webinar hosted two female speakers Dr. Sydnee Dickson and Michelle Love-Day. Dickson is the superintendent of public instruction for the Utah State Board of Education, and Love-Day is the director of the Language & Culture Services department for the Jordan School District. Their discussion focused on a variety of critical elements that can propel women’s careers forward.
Melinda Colton, communications manager for the Utah Women and Leadership Project, said that this series was put together for MSLE 3840.
“This class is taught online by Dr. Susan Madsen, and it features this ten-part webinar series,” Colton said. “The students listen to the Zoom call that features different female leaders throughout Utah each week for the first half of the class, and then there is a discussion during the second half.”
Brianna Brown is a student in the class and is a senior in data analytics at USU.
Brown said this first seminar was very impactful to her.
“Hearing from women who have done incredible things was really inspiring. They really think that it is possible for more women to accomplish the things they have done and more,” Brown said.
Colton said one of the main points of the seminar was that where you start your career isn’t necessarily where you end your career.
“They talked about how important it is to be well-rounded when it comes to experience in your career path,” Colton said. “Syd Dickson, who is now the state superintendent of public instruction, started out as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. I think that’s valuable information for students to understand.”
Brown said they talked about how women deserve to be in positions of leadership.
“We talked a lot about the importance of the words that we use,” Brown said. “For example, it’s really common for women in leadership to say, ‘I am blessed to be here’ or, ‘I am lucky to be here.’ But in reality, every woman in leadership positions deserves to be there. It is a typical thing for women in leadership to say that’s different from how men often speak in the same situation.”
Brown also said they talked about the unspoken pressure put on women to go above and beyond to earn their positions.
“One of the speakers mentioned her experience with this idea of having to work extra hard for society to view her well and to believe that she deserved her position,” Brown said. “It was a really powerful comment.”
Colton said the series was originally just meant to be seen by students in the class, but then they decided it was something that should be available to the public.
“Originally, students in the class would spend the first hour of the class watching it, and then the curriculum would come into the last half of the class,” Colton said. “After discussing it, we decided that since we were already hosting these Zoom webinars, why not invite the public to join for the first hour?”
Those who wish to attend future Zoom calls in this series can RSVP and receive access throughusu.edu/uwlp/events/upcoming-events.