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Abstract

In our work with students in the residence halls, we identified a need for additional education regarding professional identity formation among female students. We have found a naivety in students regarding the current climate of the American workforce and potential challenges women may encounter in their career fields as it pertains to gender norms, gender-bias, and inequity. In thesis research by Timmerman (2013), it was found that the workforce climate remains bleak for female professionals. While women make up the majority of the American working population, very few hold management or senior-level positions within their field. Current research indicates that colleges and universities by and large do not prepare female students for navigating the difficulties of gender-bias in a contemporary workplace. In response, a women’s leadership event was designed to provide one programmatic step toward addressing this educational gap.

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