Sandra Aleksova welcomes those in attendance to the Men as Allies event in the Fawcett Center’s Clinton Room Thursday. Credit: Courtesy of Kelly Lao
One hundred people filled the Fawcett Center’s Clinton Room to capacity Thursday to learn how to be better allies to women in the workplace.
The “Men as Allies” dinner, hosted by the Undergraduate Business Women’s Association, was held to create a safe and open environment where men can discuss and learn about women’s experiences in the workforce, the benefits of female leadership, and how they can serve as allies, according to the UBWA website.
The event included a speech from keynote speaker Frank Sasso, president of Kaufman Development, and a panel including Lori Kaiser, CEO of Kaiser Consulting, and Fred Urbanek, director of corporate finance at Worthington Industries.
“Without women representation throughout all levels of our organization you lose a tremendous amount of diversity of thought, diversity of opinion,” Sasso said. “It’s absolutely critical that men are allies to sort of create that kind of environment where it’s inclusive, it’s welcoming, and it’s a kind of place where people want to come in and work.”
Kaiser Consulting is an accounting and finance consulting firm, with 80 percent of its employees being women, Kaiser said. She said that allyship from men has been key to her success in the field due to the volume of men in decision-making positions.
“It’s been very important,” Kaiser said. “When I’m going in to sell our services, the decision makers are men. Even though I have a mostly female workforce, I have to appeal to a mostly male buyer of my services.”
The event concluded UBWA’s annual Women’s Week Celebration, including events geared toward inspiring and educating Ohio State students on women-related issues and achievements, according to the organizations website.
Sandra Aleksova, UBWA’s vice president of special events, felt that it was important to include men in the discussion on the hardships experienced by women in the workforce.
“Men make up 50 percent of the population, so unless they’re involved in creating this structural change, it will never happen,” Aleksova, a fourth-year in finance, said. “Coming to events like this helps them think about things that they might have not ever thought of before and helps them want to create that change.”
Sasso said he believes it is important for students going into the workforce to look for companies that show a sincere effort to be inclusive and diverse.
“With anything, it’s to be a good consumer,” Sasso said. “I would encourage anyone who’s in a job search to ask about culture, but then ask again and ask a follow up question and really tune in to what’s being said.”
