A diverse group of more than 150 young female business professionals gathered at the Titan Student Union at Cal State Fullerton for a symposium celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8.

Hosted by the Women’s Leadership Program of the College of Business and Economics, the event exemplifies the college’s mission to make leadership in the business professions accessible to students of both genders and all ethnic backgrounds.

Jennifer McCollum, author of In Her Own Voice: A Woman’s Rise to CEO, was the keynote speaker, discussing her own challenges as a woman executive and how she overcame.

Changing the Face of Leadership – Literally and Figuratively

“We want to change the face of leadership by changing the perspective of what good leaders do. But also, how can we literally change the face of leadership, getting more women to the CEO and boardroom level,” said McCollum, who has studied this for 25 years as CEO of Linkage, which she sold in December 2023. “If we look at the largest underrepresented group in the workforce, then we can help every other underrepresented group.”

Effective April 1, McCollum is now leading Catalyst, a New York-based gender equity-focused nonprofit.

“The double bind is the unique challenge women face due to external stereotype and perception. Women are expected to fulfill the implicit bias of what a leader should look like and act like,” said McCollum. “Most of us will conjure up the image of an athletic, strong, aggressive and competitive while male. So women leaders often feel forced to toggle between the stereotype of a soft, kind and collaborative woman and a strong, aggressive and competitive leader.”

McCollum recalled joining the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta as a communications manager for the Olympic torch relay in 1996. At the time, she was a recent graduate in her mid 20s and was in charge of the 42-state relay effort.

She was called “a cupcake with a razor blade inside,” on the outside a sweet team player but on the inside an ambitious manager.

“While we’ve made a lot of progress in 28 years, we still have a long way to go,” said McCollum.

Today, one in three board appointments are women. And last year, 10% of CEOs were women for the first time, but only 1% are women of color.

”If we are graduating more women than men, what is actually happening?” asked McCollum.

Data shows women opting out of leadership promotions or moving from firm to firm instead of staying put for advancement.

McCollum encouraged women to pursue opportunities – whether in on-campus clubs or in corporate America – in organizations and groups where women feel valued and respected, have equal opportunities, have effective development opportunities for women, and have executives specifically engaged in leadership development for women.

A 2022 advancing women organizational assessment that McCollum commissioned through Linkage showed that the percentage of women feeling confident of their organization’s commitment to female empowerment was only in the 50% range, indicating the need for corporate growth in this area but also for women to identify and cultivate opportunities where allyship and support is endemic.

”We can’t change external bias. Women tend to receive higher performance scores while men have higher promotion scores. But we can change our internal biases,” said McCollum, looking back on the limitations and stereotypes she once put on herself that almost prevented her rise to CEO. “If I were to ask you to paint a picture of what you want your career to look like in two or five years, what would it look like? Often, women don’t have an idea, feel they are too busy, or are afraid to put it out there.”

Now in the last decade or two of her career, McCollum has listed her goals and vision in detail. Her current job at Catalyst meets this vision exactly. She encourages aspiring business women to have the same commitment and vision in detail.

”If I could do it over, I would work less and engage more. Proving your value doesn’t tend to get you what you want and creates burnout and resentment,” said McCollum. “Women as a rule are horrible self-promoters. We tend to give credit to the team. But we need to make sure that our contributions are recognized.”

Celebrating International Women’s Day, Titan Style

Aubrey Miller’16 (marketing), an alumna of the Women’s Leadership Program, said the event marked a coming of age for the program.

”I am so proud of where the program started and what it has become. Being around such impactful people is life-changing,” she said. “I am so grateful for what this program does for participants, both current students and alumnae in their careers.”

Said alumna Lisa Witherspoon ‘20, “the event brought together a group of people with the same motive, to celebrate and inspire women who have or will break the glass ceiling. Dr. Muse, Jennifer McCollum and all the staff and students pulled off a memorable and amazing event!”

“Find your tribe,” admonished Lori Muse, director of the Women’s Leadership Program. “They will be with you when times are hard and will celebrate your successes.”

Honoring Achieving Women Business Titans

Among the honorees at the event were Dorothy Heide, faculty and university leader emerita.

“When Dorothy interviewed for jobs at Cal State Fullerton, people assumed she was seeking one of the low-level administrative jobs, since it was so rare for women to seek professorships in those days,” said Muse. Undeterred, she rose to become a professor of management and department chair. “We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Dorothy’s commitment to found the Women’s Leadership Program, we wouldn’t be here today!”

“What a way to celebrate International Women’s Day,” said Dean Sri Sundaram. “Celebrating Dr. Dorothy Heide, whose vision and support allowed us to develop the Women’s Leadership Program at the college and to have a keynote by Jennifer McCollum, a role model for all our students, is impactful. As the dean of a college with more than 5,000 women students, we’re looking forward to growing the Women’s Leadership program and its impact in the future.”

For More on Women’s Leadership

Providing individualized and group mentoring to upper-division undergrads and graduate business students, the Women’s Leadership Program at Cal State Fullerton is a diverse, holistic and growing women’s empowerment program. In addition to seeking the next generation of student mentees, the program always seeks the support and involvement of veteran women business leaders to give back. For more information on getting involved, reach out to Muse at [email protected].

Additionally, the Titan Women Collective, focused on helping entrepreneurially-focused women students achieve their dreams, and the Women in Business and STEM Club launched by business students provide additional opportunities for women Business Titans to succeed and thrive.