Women are historically underrepresented in positions of power and
influence. Currently, women comprise only 5.8% of CEOs and
20.2% of directors on the boards of Fortune 500 companies.
Women hold just 19.4% of seats in Congress, and there are
only 4 women governors in the country. The sooner we expose young
women to professional opportunities in their fields of interest,
the sooner they can begin to advance their career interests and
professional trajectories. The barriers to workplace
advancement start early.
What can we do as educators to expose our young women to
professional opportunities and give them a jump start on
workplace skill building? Helping students take their career
aspirations and translate them into concrete plans for their
futures is critical if we are to change women’s access to
leadership positions in the workplace and society. Women
remain underrepresented in boardrooms, elected offices, and
executive suites (Marianne Cooper, Stanford University’s Clayman
Institute for Gender Research). Despite earning half of college
degrees, “women are not at the table and their voices are not
heard,” in business and government. When speaking about
boards, committees, and other decision-making entities, Cooper
shares, “the more powerful something is, the fewer women will
be there.”