SYRACUSE -- Women empowering women. That's what nearly a thousand people were doing at the WISE Symposium at the Oncenter in Syracuse Thursday. They were connecting, networking and learning from each other. "This is the place you will learn how to start a business, how to grow a business and just be connected with each other, network with each other, learn how women can meet other women," said Lindsay Wickham of Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management's Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship.
It was a chance for women to tap into each other, learn about each other's successes and the everyday challenges that come with being a woman in business. "We try to empower women and say you can have a family, you can have a career, you can have a business," Wickham said.
So much has changed for women in terms of their place in society. And no one knows that better than Welch Allyn's President and CEO Julie Shimer. She remembers what it was like for women when she was a little girl. "When I was a very small child, I was very frustrated because every time I said I wanted to be something, I was told you can't because that was before women could attend Harvard or be a firefighter," Shimer said.
And did she prove them wrong. Shimer was named President and CEO at Welch Allyn 3 years ago, making her the first woman to ever hold the position. "In my career, at my age, I've been the first many times. So I'm a bit used to it," she said. And despite her successes and the progress women have made in recent years, Shimer says we still face challenges like discrepancies in pay and position. "Women still aren't represented in leadership the way we'd like to see them," she said.
Her message to other women is you can do it. She's hoping to inspire a new crop of young entrepreneurs along the way, realizing she's a role model for them. "I'm happy to provide that. I benefited from having great mentors along the way and I hope to return the favor," Shimer said.
