Own It conference empowers women
Fourteen women leaders in various professional industries came to speak at Bovard Auditorium for the 2016 USC Own It Summit, a women’s leadership convention, on Saturday. The conference featured speakers such as Pandora COO Sara Clemens, Time Motto founder Callie Schweitzer and former Twitter Vice President of Global Media Katie Jacobs Stanton, among others.
Over 450 students attended for the all-day event, which contained four panels and two breakout sessions from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in various locations on campus.
“Own It was started to address the leadership gap,” said Riyana Chakraborty, a senior majoring in international relations, who also organized the conference. “Women are not filling positions at the same rate as men are, whether it be on corporate boards, in STEM fields or even as government representatives, which is why this event was started to promote female leadership.”
Some of the topics discussed in the speaker panels included ways for women to advance in the corporate world, the psychological block most women feel in fields dominated by men and how to get past underlying sexist stigmas. Panelists were encouraged to describe the processes they went through to get to their current job positions. Several speakers mentioned having to create new positions for themselves due to the scarcity of women in such roles.
“There’s never been a job or position I held that used to be held by someone else, simply because most of these high positions are held with male skills in mind,” said Elizabeth Brownsen, the Team One executive director of productions, operations and technology. “But I came to these roles by finding out what was needed and proposing it as my position — and thus made myself indispensable.”
Jacobs Stanton also believed in the importance of initiative when it came to women getting positions of power. She emphasized the power of sitting at the table — which to her means taking part in the action that usually only men participate in.
“I keep hearing so many women say that they got lucky, but that’s not true,” she said. “No, you don’t just get lucky — you make your luck and you earn your luck. You have to speak out for yourself; you have to sit at the table, not at the sidelines.”
As for advice the panelists had for young women just starting out, speakers agreed that maintaining a positive attitude and understanding oneself well are both important in the career world.
Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Post Sales Monetization Tuula Rytilä commented on the topic.
“What is really important is self-awareness,” Rytilä said. “Personally, I feel that I learn the most when I’m making mistakes. So that self-awareness of knowing who you are and where you are career-wise is important.”
Stanton added that though it is crucial to understand and be true to oneself, keeping an optimistic outlook is also essential for those starting out. Taking experience from her own professional career, she gave examples on why it’s important to be enthusiastic.
“You have to have skill, but you also have to have an amazing attitude,” Stanton said. “As an executive, I can coach some skills, but I can’t coach passion. So think about your attitude and aptitude, and keep building those things.”
Attending students expressed their enthusiasm for the event and for the speakers participating. While some came to see specific speakers, most attended the conference to gain surface-level knowledge on what it’s like to be a woman in various career fields.
“It’s cool to see holistic females in the workplace,” said Laura Gouillon, a junior majoring in computer science. “It’s not as if they’re limited to their careers — they also have unique personalities and hobbies, which is inspiring especially for us as students.”
For Jessica Tang, a junior majoring in neuroscience, the most important aspect of the event was its focus on women. Specifically, Tang stressed the significance of holding a career event tailored to females.
“In a world where it is a fact that men dominate most of the workforce that I aspire to go into, this event is an incredibly unique opportunity,” Tang said. “I’m really glad that this is offered here at USC.”