16/03/2022
Diving into student clubs is one of the best ways you can spend your time at university. They help you meet like-minded people, express yourself, and acquire crucial new skills and experiences!
At IE University, we have over 100 clubs to suit all interests. In this article, we’ll be shining a spotlight on one of our biggest student-led initiatives, the IE Women in Business Club, which has been voted the best professional club time and time again.
Empowering our community, every day
International Women’s Day may be celebrated on March 8,but the IE Women in Business Club is active all year round.
Workshops, roundtables and panel discussions are regularly organized to spread the word and inspire members of the community.
From dealing with micromachismos, to finding out how companies are bridging the skills gap, to learning about the future of Afghan women, these initiatives are a highly inspiring way to learn more about the cause.
What’s more, the club has been shining a light on female role models through the Female Founder Series. It’s an initiative that’s been created in collaboration with the IE Entrepreneurship Club, and past speakers include Sophie Trelles-Tvede, founder of Invisibobble, and Paula Mora, founder of Symba and winner of South Summit 2022.
It’s important to put the “social”in social impact, too. That’s why the club hosts a variety of dinners, cocktail parties, and mix-and-mingle events so that people can get to know each other while celebrating the cause. Typically, each initiative is organized around themes like “Women in Data” and “Women in Finance,” but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
A flagship event: The Women in Leadership Conference
In a bid to promote equality in the workplace, the IE Women in Business Club has been hosting the Women in Leadership Conference every year since 2016. This two-day initiative starts on International Women’s Day and is the perfect place to learn and network.
The theme in 2022 was “Changemakers.” We caught up with Charlotte Wedekind, the graduate chapter’s president, to hear about what went into creating the event.
Alongside her responsibilities in the club, Charlotte is currently studying the Dual Degree Master in Management + Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior.
Is this the first event you’ve organized?
I haven’t organized one at this scale or on such an official level. This event has so many components—we had to think about speakers, coordinate stakeholders, create a promotional video, and consider the entire production of the event. I’ve never had to wear so many hats!
What were the biggest challenges that you faced?
Along with coordinating everything, we had to deal with many unforeseen circumstances related to the current global environment and COVID-19.
Which speakers were you particularly excited to learn from?
I would say the president of Procter & Gamble within the European region. I’ve always wanted to work for FMCGs, and Béatrice Dupuy really inspires me as she’s extremely proactive when it comes to organizing initiatives related to gender equality specifically.
Why are these events important?
Not only are they a reminder of gender equality, but they make you look at things from different perspectives and inspire you to make an impact. That’s why the theme is changemakers, because everybody has the potential to be one—whether that’s on a global or smaller scale.
Also, we hope that the conference will break down any preconceived ideas of potential challenges as a woman.
For example, we’re often told that it’s difficult to found your own company. But fortunately, there are an increasing amount of initiatives in place that reduce the gap—it doesn’t necessarily have to be that difficult. We want to raise awareness of this.
How can men play their part in female-led initiatives?
The most important thing is for men to not be scared off by them. It should be normal that they see women in leadership positions. That’s what the IE Women in Business Club aims to do—welcome more men to our events so that when it’s their turn to join the workforce and climb the career ladder, they don’t have any reservations towards women and respect them equally. At the end of the day, it’s about gender equality.
What makes the message different when it comes from a woman?
Well, most of the time, it’s women who experience certain situations where they are not as recognized or respected as men. And a lot of it has to do with characteristics. Due to cultural bias, women are often raised to be less dominant in certain situations, and sometimes they’re less inclined to speak up. Because of that, it’s important to host self-branding or negotiation workshops, for example.
Do any other clubs have similar missions?
The IE Girl Up Club is also about gender equality. The difference is that Women in Business is more from a professional, corporate point of view whereas theirs focuses more on environmental issues, and breaking the bias in the field of STEM.
We collaborate often, though. Another club we partner with on a regular basis is the IE Entrepreneurship Club because they also want to create opportunities for students and help them find opportunities to start their businesses.
If you were a speaker at the conference, what would your topic be?
Currently, my topic would be, “Why it’s important for men to be part of the conversation.” We want our efforts to be respected, and for it to be recognized that equality is not a woman’s issue; it’s a business issue.
I would choose to talk about that to help men see it from that point of view, rather than just reading “Women in Business” and not being able to identify.
How did you choose the speakers?
We chose the ones that best represented this year’s theme: changemakers. Today, many events are related to COVID and the new world of work, and we wanted to step it up and highlight individuals who are making a real and positive impact, which is what students want to learn about.
Outside of this conference, who are the changemakers that you look up to most?
I feel like everyone in my family is incredible, and very different from each other. Actually, having such a diverse cohort at IE University is similar. People are curious by nature and there are a lot of initiatives to take part in. Through them, I’ve found that there are so many different ways to become a changemaker.
Which other IE Women in Business initiatives should we look out for?
There are a lot of really interesting workshops coming up related to self-branding, presenting yourself in the workplace, and more. We’ve collaborated with great companies, and there’s a lot to take away from the workshops. We also organize panel discussions every month, and we try to make sure that each one has a different industry focus. The next one coming up will be Women in Tech, and that’s the first of many!
