Within the Women’s Resource Center’s Annual Empowerment Panel, students were introduced to four women who have strived towards success in their respective fields. 

The panel creates a space each year for women to discuss challenges they face in the workplace because of the frameworks built around their gender as well as what they do to empower themselves in this environment. This year is no different, with these individuals analyzing the societal standards that they face individually in their separate careers and together as women.

The panel invited Jess Armstrong, a USA Today bestselling author of the Ruby Vaughn Mysteries, Jaita Talukdar, associate professor of sociology at Loyola University New Orleans, Chelsey Richard Napoleon, clerk of Civil District Court for Orleans Parish, and Nicole Caridad, CEO and principal consultant of Caridad Consulting, who were all asked both general and personal questions about their journeys as women pursuing employment.

One challenge they all agreed interconnected their stories was the fact that people, especially women, are expected to balance everything in a way where they can continuously serve others, even when they may not have the energy to.

“The pitfall of going into passion-driven mission work is burnout,” said Caridad.

She explained how easy it is to reach burnout when one uses themselves as a vessel for others, especially in a career like hers, in which she constantly works with nonprofit organizations.

“You can’t continue pouring from an empty cup,” Caridad said.

Talukdar, who has pursued sociology due to her curiosity about human nature and her theories of gender and the societal lens women are seen through, explained that young people don’t realize that the lifestyle of constantly pursuing balance is built upon a systemic structure. Ironically, the system that implemented this isn’t even balanced in itself.

“We are told constantly that you can have it all if you balance it,” Talukdar said.

However, this mindset is hindering the success of many individuals, and once women free themselves from it, according to Napoleon, things will make much more sense to them.

“Balance is not a real thing. We beat ourselves up for not having balance, but balance isn’t a real thing,” she said.

Spreading oneself too thin is also an outcome of trying to obtain and master everything at once, they agreed. It is nearly impossible to take care of yourself when constantly prioritizing your work.

“You don’t have to try to be everything to everyone all of the time,” Armstrong said.

Another prevalent issue that women face, according to this panel, is the doubt of whether or not they belong within academia. Unlike men, women have to break the habit of making room for others and quieting down, which Talukdar explained is taught in their early stages of life, so women who strive for success in their fields find themselves questioning their worth within the field.

All of the women in the panel collectively agreed, however, that women’s presence within academia is non-negotiable because of what they have brought and will continue to bring to the table. Talukdar stated that this is seen consistently with intersectionality in sociology because it was formulated by women working in the field who were perceptive enough to make connections.

Everyone, Talukdar explained, brings in their life history to their work, which in turn shapes it. Because of this, every person who contributes to a project brings something inherently unique, which Napoleon builds upon. 

“You have a perspective that’s uniquely you,” Napoleon said.

Because of this, Napoleon believes people should choose a job that both mirrors their interests and their skill sets because this is where they will truly thrive. People will always have to follow their skill sets, but if they choose a job that doesn’t mirror their interests as well, Napoleon argues that they should “put an expiration date on it.” 

This method is how these women were able to take their jobs and build upon them in a way that reflected what they wanted to become. Even if they didn’t start with prioritizing their interests, they worked with what they had and made themselves present in their workforces until they were able to reach success. 

“Female empowerment all boils down to choices,” Caridad said.