By Dennis Ferraro
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29 Mar, 2021
As we end March, I wanted to reflect on Women's History Month. I immediately think of my personal career field and industry. As the President of Gateway Orlando, many women have influenced our organization. Many of our members, possibly you, are leaders in our business community. Lastly, we cannot forget our female customers or clients. Esther Lloyd Jones is one of the trailblazers of my career field of Student Affairs. She was the first person to receive her master's degree in Student Personnel Administration, the field which eventually became Student Affairs that includes job functions such as Residence Life, Student Activities and Career Services. Student Affairs began with Placement Secretaries, who assumed administrative functions from faculty members. From its founding, Student Affairs has been a feminized profession. More women than men hold Student Affair positions. However, unfortunately it is also a less respected and paid field to its faculty member counterparts. Fewer women rise the ranks of Student Affairs to the Director or Vice President level. Also, there are fewer female college and university presidents than their male peers. If a woman is president of a college or university, she is less likely to be married or have children than a man is. I am proud of my current employer, Keiser University. In addition to the Student Services Department, women hold Financial Aid, Admissions, Faculty, Academic Dean and Campus President positions. Dr. Arthur Keiser founded Keiser University with his mother Evelyn Keiser. Belinda Keiser is the Vice Chancellor of Community Relations and Student Advancement. In addition to her Executive Leadership role with the university, Mrs. Keiser holds leadership positions with statewide workforce boards and chambers of commerce. I am glad that Keiser is not unique that more women are pursuing college degrees than men. It is great that women realize the importance of pursuing higher education. Although, I would say that women are more likely to attend Keiser University to pursue career fields to change the course of their lives and their families. When we think of women and Gateway Orlando, I think we all immediately think of Susan Wilcox. She was not only a trailblazer for women and Gateway Orlando, but she was also a general trendsetter for the organization. Susan established the Golf Tournament, Gala and Chalk Art Festival. She established the 501(c)3 Gateway Orlando Arts. One trait of Susan that I immediately think of is that she was not afraid to ask for help or advice. Maybe it is the perception of weakness or vulnerability that men do not ask for help or advice. Perhaps, men do not generally behave this way, but I know I have seen this in myself. However, we know men generally are less likely to ask for directions when they are lost. Even though we immediately think of Susan as a female leader of Gateway Orlando, she was not the first female president of Gateway Orlando. Nicole Goodman was the first President and Layla Eagle was the third President of then Semoran Business Partnership, which became Gateway Orlando. As the founding President, Nicole held a critical role. Layla stood up as President, when there was a gap and uncertainty for the organization. There are countless women, who I can recognize as having a contribution to the Gateway Orlando District. In addition to our Presidents, two of our five Executive Directors were women, including Mayra Rubero and Lourdes Mola. From Susan, Lourdes and our other women leaders, Gateway Orlando established Women Leading Women. Because women are statistically less likely to advance (e.g., the glass ceiling) and earn less money than their male counterparts, it is important to focus programming specific to our female leadership. Men and women simply have a different ways of working and networking. Women perform better in women exclusive networking or business groups. However, this is not a female exclusive group. Men are welcomed to join the group. I would prefer that whenever possible we obtain female speakers, so it is truly Women Leading Women (and men). Even though Gateway Orlando is one of the City of Orlando Main Street Programs, I am sure many of our members may not even know who Pauline Eaton is, but they should. Pauline manages all of the Main Street Programs for the City of Orlando. She provides training and mentorship to all of the Directors and Boards of Directors for every City of Orlando Main Street Program. Before Pauline worked with the City of Orlando, she was a Main Street Manager, business owner and elected official. Everything I know about the City of Orlando Main Street Program and Main Street America is due to Pauline. We have female trailblazers in all of our career fields. You know who the Esther Lloyd Jones is of our field. Perhaps you or someone you know had roadblocks because of your gender. Maybe you were inspired to start your own business because of the roadblocks that you faced becoming one of our many female entrepreneurs. I would like to recognize you for your accomplishments. Also, I would like to recognize your female employees for all of their hard work and accomplishments. Lastly, I would like to recognize our female customers or clients. No one in the corridor does this better in my opinion than Honest-1 Auto Care. Honest is in its name. Why? Because what do we all think about when we go to get our car serviced - the mechanic is going to take advantage of us. What about when our mothers, wives or daughters go to get their cars serviced? 66% of Honest-1 Auto Care's customers of women. In addition to providing them honest service, the appearance and service, including complimentary shuttles and children's play areas, focus on women. Like I shared, most of our students at Keiser University are female. How many of our businesses' primarily clientele are female? Who makes the consumer decisions in households? Who makes the major financial decisions in families? How are we focusing our businesses to serve a female clientele? Dennis Ferraro, President
