Beginning this fall, the Women’s Center is putting leadership at the forefront for all identities.
Offered by the Women’s Center and Career and Leadership Development Center, ”She Leads OHIO” is a professional leadership development program that aims to “focus on gendered issues that arise in regards to professional development,” M. Geneva Murray, the director of the Women’s Center, said.
Students will need to complete four programs held by the Women’s Center as well as two additional CLDC programs to receive a certificate, according to its website.
Because working with people of all genders and identities is common, it is important to understand there are several problems that may rise for people who identify as female in the workplace, Murray said. For example, according to the website, when a woman is in charge she is called “bossy” rather than “boss.”
Anna Neawedde, a senior studying specialized studies with a concentration on gender, communication and management, said she plans to complete the certificate as she believes the programs “can really help you in every aspect of your career and life in some way.”
The programs offered this semester that are required for a student to receive the certificate include workshops titled “Start Smart Salary Negotiation,” “Elect Her” as well as “intercultural knowledge programming,” according to the website.
Neawedde, who is also a student worker in the Women’s Center, said she was interested in the salary negotiation workshop because “everybody needs (those skills.)”
“No matter what gender you identify as, learning those skills to negotiate salary is something nobody teaches us at school,” she said.
“Elect Her” is a new program focusing on developing leadership skills with the aim of encouraging students to run for their own student governments in hopes that people will run for office later on, Murray said.
“It is a non-partisan training so we don’t lean toward being republican or democrat,” she said. “We really want women (everywhere) to be thinking about running (for office).”
Kentisha Dinham, a senior studying public relations and political science, said she has participated in some of the workshops offered last year and strongly recommends them to students at OU.
“A lot of students don’t know that these types of opportunities exist,” Dinham said. “(Gaining experience through these programs) can really affect the way future employers might look at you.”
"She Leads OHIO" is a starting point for people to begin thinking about professional development as a student, Murray said.
The Women’s Center plans to have more workshops surrounding diversity, including some that will focus on women of color and LGBT populations.
“(Talking about diversity) is important for our interpersonal relationships as we interact with people who are different from ourselves, but we can also think about it from a professional lens,” she said. “If you’re going to be successful in today’s world, you’ll have to be able to engage with people who are different from (yourself.)”
Murray encouraged students to attend the workshops available regardless of their gender identity.
“We do take a gendered perspective with all of these programs to see how they impact women in particular, but they’re really applicable to everyone,” Murray said.
