What pay gap?

Last week, the world celebrated International Women’s Day – 24hours dedicated to us “birds”. And yet, in that same week, we were simultaneously reminded of the both of the gender […]

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Last week, the world celebrated International Women’s Day – 24hours dedicated to us “birds”. And yet, in that same week, we were simultaneously reminded of the both of the gender pay gap “No penis = fewer pounds” and the misogynistic attitude towards strong, intelligent women after two female candidates were left close to tears from sexist heckling. Both events send a nationwide message that as girls, not only will we earn less than our male counterparts despite matching them academically and on top of that they will continue to consider us “silly women”.

Even The Tab suggested that we pack in the books whilst we are ahead as “studying will probably be pointless” as we will no doubt be far too concerned and preoccupied with trying to emulate the perfect domestic goddess embodied by Nigella Lawson, Lorraine Candy or Mary Berry. Whilst the men of this world might see these women as the one about to whip up their next tasty feast whilst seductively licking a spatula, we see them as savvy, astute businesswomen who have built up multimillion pound fortunes. As it turns out, female graduates actually out earn the boys in their 20s and only fall behind on the earnings scale later in life, partly due to different life choices.

Marissa Mayer – Yahoo CEO

Natalie Massenet – founder of Net à Porter

Durham University Women in Business (DUWIB) is a relatively new society, ever gaining in popularity (we now count over 1000 members) that aims to provide a springboard between university and your prospective career path. 
Over the course of the year, we host a number of networking events across a variety of sectors, ranging from banking to media, via retail. We host a number of inspirational talks by a number of successful businesswomen as well as interactive seminars aimed to educate and develop members’ skills. We are also fortunate to have a large network of mentors, consisting of Durham alumni who are on hand to share their experience and advise future graduates.

This year’s Co Presidents Naomi Oluleye and Jessica Thorne had this to say: “We have really enjoyed being part of something so great and encouraging girls to reach their full potential in any aspect of business (from fashion to investment banking). We’re looking forward to DUWIB growing and encouraging even more girls to succeed. Clearly DUWIB proves that “the bend and snap”, the famous words from Elle Woods are not the only way to land a job!”

So whether you are an ambitious fresher or freaked out finalist, get involved with DUWIB this term and discover a smorgasbord of career opportunities that can help you become a high flying graduate (even if you are a woman).

Check out our website: http://www.duwib.org.uk


Anita Roddick – Founder of The Body Shop