Breaking glass ceilings. Inspiring and empowering women. Celebrating progress and planning what’s to come. All while balancing cases, assignments, and classes at the Ivey Business School.
That’s what a typical day looks like for the two HBA Co-Chairs behind Ivey’s first ever Women in Management (WIM) Conference. Alexandra Lee and Victoria Lin, both in their second year of HBA, worked tirelessly for eight months to bring to life the inaugural conference, themed "Momentum: Inspiring drive and development.”
“As an HBA student, you’re on the cusp of your career. Now is that perfect moment in any girl’s life to have that momentum,” Lee explained. “We’ve come a long way as women in the working world but there’s a lot more we can do. We want to plant that seed now before we head out into the real world about what change needs to come.”
The event had 100 Ivey students attend and featured a variety of high-profile industry leaders. There were workshops, a panel discussion featuring women from various industries, and keynote speakers.
“Since this was its first year, it had no blueprint or foundation set. We started with nothing,” Lin said. “Alex and I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on this because we loved it so much and we were so passionate about what we were doing. We’re really excited to see how it grows in the next few years.”
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Building a community
The Co-Chairs say there’s something unique about the Women in Management Club. Their events vary from a large-scale discussion with top firms one night to a laid-back, potluck dinner within sections the next.
“Ivey has lots of fantastic clubs,” Lee said. “But WIM is a blend. It’s more than a formal school club. It’s a community. We know the ratio at Ivey is more boys than girls. It’s nice to have a space where you can talk girl-to-girl and have female mentors.”
Lee’s right – the ratio of male to female students in Ivey’s HBA Program currently sits around 60 to 40. The conference was a chance for girls to discuss amongst themselves and with female leaders the challenges they see for women, and the progress they have made so far.
“A key takeaway was yes the stats are shocking, yes we are outnumbered, but while the world gets caught up, we can encourage each other,” Lee said.
The two outlined the importance of their executive team, which Lee said operated much like a start-up. The executives each had a specific role, but when it came down to it, they all jumped in and helped with whatever was needed.
- Rachael DiMenna, Logistics Coordinator
- Tiffany Kwok, Sponsorships Coordinator
- Laura Sawchuk, Speakers Coordinator
- Iman Mohamed, Workshops Coordinator
The WIM Conference Executive Team, pictured here with the WIM Club Executive Team
What comes next
The Women in Management Conference was a success – a huge success. Immediately after the conference, Lin and Lee said they had girls approaching them asking how they could become Co-Chairs for the event next year.
“What we learned that day was this momentum starts with us,” Lin said. “If we want to see change we have to have these conversations now. Not just when we’re in the workplace or when we’re in a position of leadership, but right now.”
The Co-Chairs are looking into the possibility of running another event next semester on a smaller-scale, which would involve their male peers as well.
“It’s super important to have a female community, but when it comes down to it, we can never move anywhere without the help of our counterparts,” Lee said.
