Written by: Ashley Creech

There is a new era of business that fosters a space for women entrepreneurs, where collaboration, consensus and diversity rule. With increasing numbers of well known organizations, the trend of women in leadership seems to be on the rise, though it is still clear that women’s inequality in professional settings is still a large business problem. At the University of Washington Bothell, students have been continuously creating spaces for women in typically men-dominated industries to thrive.

The Women in Business Club (WiB) recently relaunched their brand on October 23rd of 2019, after the organization was founded one year ago which laid the foundation to build from. With new officers this year, and a new vision, the first step was to gain members and build the club’s network. When rebranding, the officers wanted the brand to “scream bold, empowering, progressive, playful, and professional.”

The WiB are striving passionately to meet their goal of promoting, empowering and supporting women to become stronger leaders, foster a more gender-equal corporate culture, provide access and resources to their members to further their academic, social and professional development and radiate that #BOSSGIRLENERGY.

Women are often underrepresented and underestimated in business leadership, though within the past years more women are gaining recognition for their phenomenal accomplishments that may have been overlooked in the past. The WiB provides a community building and networking space for women in business to feel empowered and confident in their abilities to grow their professional status. 

The WiB strives for the need for more women to be in leadership positions.

“Women typically earn less than men while doing the same job. Women of color earn even less. Being a part of this club has helped me feel more empowered and made me feel more in control of my future.” says a club officer. 

Though the club name may seem as though only women can join, it is open to anyone, and not exclusive to women or business majors. This space is open to anyone who wants to support and empower other students within a professional setting, while also working to combat the underrepresentation of women in business. Stephanie Guzman, the Director of Philanthropy, is not a business major but knows it is an important skill to know how business works.

Stephanie’s dream job is to be a professor and teach Gender, Woman, and Sexuality Studies. WIB is helping me reach my dream job because education is a business that’s dominated by men, especially in higher ed institutes. I want to be one of many to fill this gap because we need more diverse representations in higher education.

“Everyone has a different story, set of learning experiences, and goals in life, no matter what stage in life we are in, so we should [all] be taking advantage of opportunities.”

-Alondra Pangilinan

Some events that WiB have put on include:

The “New Year, Better You: Interview Tips & Tricks Workshop” with Markelle Linstedt, a UW Bothell alumni and Talent Manager at Simplicity Consulting, was their second event that the club hosted after their brand launch event. This event provided students on campus with help on applying for internships, learning how to stand out in competitive marketing, and networking.

They also hosted a Microsoft Job Seminar in collaboration with the Korean Student Association, Management Information Systems Club, and the Interaction Design Association with Koreans of Microsoft. This seminar featured a diverse range of networking opportunities and hands-on coaching from different organizational functions from finance, marketing, UX, HR, research and program management. 

During the #hustlemonth of February, they also put on the events “Starting a Business” to learn tips for starting a business and learning from Bobae owner and entrepreneur, Karma and Karma’s journey in entrepreneurship at Bobae Coffee & Tea in Woodinville.

At the end of February, they hosted an “Etiquette Dinner & Mixer and Networking” to learn practical networking directly from employers while enjoying fabulous food and conversation. The keynote speaker was Arden Chilse, a business etiquette consultant, trainer, speaker, and coach.

The most previous event was “Making Money Moves Online: Side Hustles with Hailey” event joined UWB students with a fun and motivating webinar through Zoom to learn how to make money moves online. Hailey works as Executive Support and Retail Operations for Lumieworld, a private label Amazon startup brand selling innovative baby technology products. Hailey is also the Director of Marketing and Outreach for Women in Business. 

The Women in Business are also advocates for the Mentorship Edge program at UWB which creates an opportunity for motivated students to meet with exceptional business leaders for mentorship. Students are invited to participate in a one-hour small group mentoring meeting to receive professional development coaching from seasoned business leaders including how to prepare yourself to land and succeed at your dream job. Students and mentors are encouraged to stay in touch with each other for ongoing mentoring. Some mentors for Winter 2020 include Tableau, Google, Simplicity Consulting, Avidian, UBS, Image Source, T-Mobile, Microsoft and more. 

Alondra Pangilinan is graduating in the Spring, but she is hoping to leave a legacy that inspires growth, support, and love while building relationships and structure that will bring opportunities and success for UWB students in the future.

Meet the Women in Business:

Director of Finance: Kathia Vivar

Secretary: Anujin Batbaatar

VP Marketing and Outreach: Hailey Myrick

Director of Philanthropy: Stephanie Guzman

Vice President: Cindy Yang

President: Alondra Pangilinan