A group of Carlmont students strives to expose the struggles of successful women in leadership positions and educate others on essential business skills.
Their club, Women in Leadership, provides girls with access to opportunities to learn about business-related topics such as finance, economics, and marketing.
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashwika Narayan, a sophomore at Carlmont, started the club to recognize women’s hardships in professional environments.
“The truth is, women have a harder time in business. For example, they also have a lot more to consider outside of what a man would have to in business, like taking care of a family or being pregnant and having to take maternity leave,” Narayan said.
The formation of the Women in Leadership Club also stemmed from her desire to make connections with professional women more accessible to students at Carlmont.
“The great thing about business is it’s all about connections. Who you know is a lot of how you get there,” Narayan said.
The club aims to create a space that feels collaborative, safe, and professional and establish an environment where young women can support each other.
“We want to create an empowering community,” said Aanya Bhatia, the club’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
The club also functions on a more relaxed sense of operation with a low time commitment.
“It’s not something super stringent… It’s definitely something where you learn at kind of an easy pace,” Narayan said.
The committee includes positions where everyone can be a part of their board and contribute. Different leadership roles, such as CEO and CFO, reflect the type of workplace roles you would find in a professional setting.
“We’re trying to give opportunities to students here that want to get into business,” said Katelyn Ye, the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Currently, the club is participating in Rock the Street, Wall Street, a nonprofit organization that goes around to different schools. It’s centered around financial investment and literacy education.
“They (Rock the Street, Wall Street) teach women and female students about financial and business topics like stocks, funds, and more,” Ye said.
The club also looks forward to inviting professional women to speak to the club about their individual journeys in different fields of work.
The club’s mission is valued by the club adviser, Tiffany Jay. Jay is also a teacher at Carlmont and believes in the club’s helpful nature.
“I also think that it is incredibly important to promote the visibility of women in leadership,” Jay said.
The club’s future looks bright; the committee plans to pursue the club’s outreach to engage more prospective members through their years in high school and hopes for others to continue it once they graduate.
“I hope we can get a lot more people who are interested, like freshmen, juniors, or seniors, so that even after I graduate, people will want to take over the club,” Narayan said.
As the club grows, the officers hope the members will pick up valuable lessons that will ultimately help them succeed in the future.
“There’s a lot of different things you can learn from a woman working in the business,” Narayan said.
