In September, the Iovine and Young Academy and Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young announced a new program geared toward uplifting women entrepreneurs. The microresidency program will feature guest industry experts who students can meet with throughout the 2024-25 school year. The program builds upon IYA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Initiatives, and EY’s programs for gender equity: Women. Fast Forward and POWER Up.

The program’s first resident is Audrey McLoghlin, founder of sustainable fashion brand Frank & Eileen. The next resident will come from an engineering background. IYA and EY expect to bring in one resident per semester.

Davina Wolter, IYA’s associate dean of inclusive learning and diverse excellence and an associate professor of design, said she hopes the partnership can build off of other University initiatives to promote gender parity.

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“We’re really excited to be working with folks that are well established in industry and have incredible skills to share with our students,” Wolter said. 

Ahmya Rivera, a junior majoring in arts, technology and the business of innovation, is excited about seeing women’s voices being uplifted in the entrepreneurship space. She said she thinks diversity is “100% essential to innovation.”

“It’s just important that we continue to empower women with the resources, skill sets and even the competence to help bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship,” Rivera said. “If you have just one gender in the room, whatever you’re making is not going to excel as much as it can.”

Rivera said there have been times when she has attended networking events and been the only woman to present a pitch. She said programs like EY’s microresidencies are needed to ensure this is no longer the case.

The EY and IYA partnership will also include a POWER Up event open to students across the University, where attendees can watch keynote conversations with women in business and participate in concentrated small-group discussions about women entrepreneurship. EY and IYA have worked together for several years, including on IYA’s challenge-based reflective learning curriculum, in which students work to solve business or industry challenges. 

Wolter said she hopes all students will benefit from the series’ increased representation of women.

“I really hope that each of our students, whether they are male, female, or nonbinary, they’re seeing the additional perspectives that can be brought into our community … and how each of their identities will impact and enhance their ability to grow into incredible leaders and problem solvers, creators,” said Wolter.

Diora Juraboeva, a junior majoring in arts, technology and the business of innovation said she thinks the microresidencies could be a good introduction for those who are nervous to enter the entrepreneurship space.

“Developing this partnership could be very helpful to attract more people to get into [entrepreneurship],” Juraboeva said. “Students who are coming into IYA for the first time who might be intimidated by the entrepreneurship space could really benefit from having access to more female entrepreneurs.” 

She had positive experiences with gender parity in entrepreneurship and engineering during her time at IYA, but there may be more challenges in getting women into the field outside the University, she said. 

In 2021, IYA reported that it had an even student ratio of men to women. However, Charlotte Chang, a sophomore majoring in arts, technology and the business of innovation, said the majority of people interested in entrepreneurship in her classes are men. 

Chang is currently working on founding a startup, which she said is a “risky” process. She hopes EY’s partnership can help her and other women entrepreneurs feel empowered to take risks with their work, she said. 

“The program will offer connections that will make me feel better about my career prospects,” Chang said. “Like, how do I get in touch with people who will help me grow and scale my business?”

When evaluating where to pursue a degree to enter the business industry, Chang worried IYA was founded too recently compared to other schools —  in 2013. She said the school’s industry partnerships help solidify that IYA was the right choice.

“Before coming to IYA I was just like ‘Oh, would my degree have any value because it’s so new?’ But I think having the industry partnerships definitely solidifies our place in the market and our value as a degree,” Chang said.