- Written by Alejandra Guzman
- Published in Economic Development
Celebrating Women in Business & Promoting Gender Equality
Celebrating Women in Business & Promoting Gender Equality
By Alejandra Guzman
Click aqui para español- >Celebrando a las profesionales y promoviendo la equidad de género.
Even though there is an increased awareness of the hardships that female professionals have dealt with and overcome, there is a lot more work to be done. Traditional and cultural ideas of femininity have deeply influenced how women are treated and viewed which is an unfortunate worldwide reality.
Perceptions and expectations, amongst other factors, make it hard for female professionals to advance in their careers and acquire an active participation in different roles of public life. With a lack of female representation, it is hard for younger generations to imagine and visualize their possibilities.
To overcome these challenges, it is crucial to propagate success stories of women in business and to celebrate these successes, achieved both in business and society, and to highlight emerging female role models. It is quite challenging to imagine something that you have never seen. Seeing women achieve amazing life goals serves as inspiration, motivation, and as a reminder that you can get there too!
Increased visibility of successful women in business also helps raise awareness of many issues that need to be solved, paving the way to female success. I had the honor of participating in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. This event, set in New York, honored women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run worldwide. The awards were presented to winners during a dinner event with more than 550 people in attendance.
This year marked the 15th Anniversary of the Stevie Awards and the inauguration of the Women Future Conference preceding the award ceremony. It was an entire day of celebrating the achievements of working women around the world. I was inspired to meet successful women from Jordan, Malaysia, Canada, Mexico and many other countries. Events like the Stevie Awards are important to promote women empowerment and introduce female role models to our community. We need to do more. We must develop innovative and inclusive approaches to attain gender equality in all aspects of society.
We must tackle common barriers collectively to progress in business and society: We must endeavor to achieve equal pay, equality, diversity in senior representation, safety for students and faculty on campus, advocating for, defending, demanding, and succeeding in STEM Education, and sensitizing organizations guilty of unconscious bias. Until next time!