On Tuesday, Oct. 17, the Honors Program hosted their weekly Colloquium series titled “Not Business as Usual: Business for the Common Good” in Edwards Hall at 7 p.m.
The focus of this week’s panel was gender equality in business, and speakers Hilina D. Ajakaiye and Lauren Gray presented their experiences being women in business.
Carl Aspelund, Associate Director of the Honors Program opened the event and presented the land acknowledgement statement.
After the statement, Aspelund invited members of the Narragansett tribe, Samantha Cullen-Fry and her daughters Amelia and Olivia to the podium.
Amelia and Olivia delivered traditional greetings in the Narragansett language, and their mother Samantha talked about how American capitalism contradicts the beliefs of many indigenous people.
“In the Narragansett language there is no word for ownership,” Cullen-Fry said. “It’s not a concept or an idealism that we have and it’s something that we struggle with to this day in this economy.”
Cullen-Fry concluded that businesses need to be mindful of the land they are inhabiting and it is important to put people and land before business.
Following Cullen-Fry and her daughters, Aspelund introduced Ana Barraza, Director of URI’s Women’s Center, who was the moderator of the evening.
The speakers on the panel were Hilina D. Ajakaiye, and Lauren Gray.
Ajakaiye is the executive vice president at Meet Boston and founder and president of R.I.S.E women’s leadership conferences. Gray is the Senior Vice President on the Crisis and Reputation Risk leadership team at Edelman, a global communications firm. She also has a law degree.
Barraza opened the panel by asking how gender has played a role in the women’s careers.
Gray first acknowledged that she is a queer woman, and this has also impacted her career.
“I came out during law school, and it was a very difficult and painful experience with my family,” Gray said. “I ended up taking a completely different career trajectory, one that I very much love now, but that has absolutely impacted my trajectory and choices.”
She discussed her work at Edelman and how she is a part of the LGBTQ+ task force, which advises businesses on how to show support to employees in the LGBTQ+ community.
A piece of advice Gray gives to all young women finding their place in their careers is to find other women to support you.
“Another thing that I wanted to mention for women that I think is so critical is both finding someone to be a mentor for you and also finding someone to be what we would call a sponsor,” Gray said. “This is most often someone who is in your workplace that’s able to pound the table for you and is able to say your name in rooms when you’re not there.”
The conversation then turned to Ajakaiye and her experience coming to the United States from Ethiopia. At 12 years old, Ajakaiye and her two sisters immigrated with her father to Boston while her mother stayed in Ethiopia.
“When I first got here, [United States] my mom told me no matter what, lean on good women, support good women and make sure that if you’re in a room and you feel impacted as a woman, say something,” Ajakaiye said.
She then expressed her gratitude for the women who have helped her throughout her schooling and career.
“I’ve always had women who have really mentored me and have always sought a good path for me,” Ajakaiye said.
The support she received from other women inspired her to mentor younger girls who are attending school or starting their career.
According to Ajakaiye, she is passionate about helping women because social legislation and other policies can make it challenging for women to work in business. She has had experience being the only woman and executive of color in her current role and says that it impacts her daily.
“I’m always thinking about how you change the trajectory and how that shapes you,” Ajakaiye said.
Burraza also asked the important question of how to make business more inclusive. Ajakaiye started with talking about the benefit of having diversity in the workplace.
“We know that when we have diverse people in the boardroom, the panel is healthier and there is a wider range of thinking about a business case,” Ajakaiye said.
She thinks that businesses have to be thinking about serving a global economy and global community.
Gray then touched on work the Edelman is going to promote inclusivity.
“What we’re [Edelman] doing from a global communications perspective is really seeking to cut through the noise and have communications land,” Gray said. “I think that we can’t possibly do that and be relevant in culture if we don’t have people at the table that reflect our society and culture.”
Both women expressed their gratitude in being asked to present at this panel, and how important it is to be having the conversation about gender equality in business.
“It has been such a replenishment of my soul to think that the next generation of leaders and some in this room are going to make a lot of impact that’s going to change the trajectory of where we’ve been and where we’re going,” Ajakaiye said.
The panel concluded with questions from students and other community members.
The following honors colloquium was held Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in Edwards Auditorium featuring Wallace J. Nicols who discussed climate change.