Interviewer Matisse Chambers
Interviewees Georgia & Claire (Women in Business)
Join now: https://usasa.sa.edu.au/Clubs/womeninbus
Contact: USASA-Women.in.Business@usasa.unisa.edu.au
Instagram: @womeninbusiness.unisa
We caught up with Georgia (President) and Claire (Vice president) from Women in Business to get an insight into their club: what it has on offer for students and some of the awesome events they have planned for the year.
The pair, best friends, are studying the same double degree, a bachelor’s in finance and financial planning. After attending the USASA Club awards night last year, they identified a gap in a business focused club that was open to people in multiple degrees and industries:
G: We recognised a gap within clubs, especially at city west, there was lots of women empowerment and speciality clubs but wasn’t anything business related. So many degrees like finance, HR and management can all come under the umbrella of business and doesn’t always have to be so specific.
They found a lot of the clubs on offer were quite niche or targeted at specific degrees and cohorts. Having been unsure in the past whether or not they were able to join certain clubs, they created ‘Women in Business’ for all like-minded female and male business passionate students!
G: something we have struggled with is networking within our own university and finding people that are just as passionate and ambitious about their careers. It’s not difficult to come across but it is much easier to bring these people together in a setting where we are on the same page, can progress together and people can share their own connections and networks.
C: The club is a mix of social, networking by connecting with professionals and getting the most out of uni that you can.
Although the name doesn’t necessarily suggest it, the club is not females only, but males as well, as a way to support women in what is sometimes a male driven industry.
G: Even though our club is called women in business, it is actually open to men as well. Personally, I have a really strong belief that as women, we should not only be encouraging but actively involved in closing the gender wage gap and perusing high achieving goals because statistics show that there is a discrepancy between men and women in the industry. Our club offers a platform and space for men to stand alongside women and be a support for women in business. It’s important that we all get around each other and close the gap in business.
C: The finance side is very male dominated, we walked into one of our first classes and only saw two other women in the room…which there is nothing wrong with, but we want to connect with those other women to have their support within the industry.
With two very passionate and driven women at the forefront of the club, it is no surprise that they have some amazing and unique events (and maybe even merch) lined up for the year.
G: We’ve got a lot planned. A collab with human resources and hopefully commerce society, social cocktail night and probably one big networking event.
C: The networking event won’t be one of those sit down and interview each other type of things, we don’t want to have really intimidating activities that people would be hesitant coming to.
C: We definitely have merch in the pipe line. We did a poll on Instagram a few weeks ago asking our members what kind of merch they want to see.
Not only this, but the pair put up their hands to host the business ball and are also planning on hosting some study sessions and possibly a ‘meet your tutor’ event.
C: we are going to do some study events, so at the end of each semester we will put aside two days, book out rooms, have a bunch of snacks/food where our members can come along and just study together. Some people might find others who are taking the same courses, and sometimes it’s nice to be able to study with a group and like-minded people.
C: We have in the works a ‘meet your tutor’ event with a few of the tutors within business degrees. A lot of them have really interesting stories about how they ended up where they are, what courses they did etc.
G: The idea behind this one is that the uni semester is so fast paced you don’t always get a chance to make a deeper connection with your tutor. Lots of them have so much knowledge and this could bring out the possibility to have a working relationship with them or even a mentorship hopefully.
Even though this is the pairs first time running a club together, it doesn’t get in the way of their goals and aspirations for the club.
G: I really hope our members can start to see potential, put forth their own ideas for what they want to see and actively participate in the club.
C: We are really making a conscious effort to ask our members ‘what interests you in our club’, ‘what would you like to see from the club’ and ‘what direction and what sort of things would you be interested in coming along to’—just so we can get a broad idea and make it a club for the whole community rather than just a club for us.
G: We want anyone who has any needs within uni, whether it be they want to network more or do a workshop, we want to make sure that they have the guidance to be able to get there.
G: If there is something our club can’t do or provide, we are going to actively strive to make sure we can find someone that can.
So, no matter if you are undertaking a business degree, have a side hustle or are just wanting to network and meet new people within the business realm, the Women in Business club is sure to provide you with the opportunities, people, and support to do so.
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