Inaugural gala honors undergraduate women

The lights came down, a hush fell more than the audience, and three phrases flashed across a tv display: “Look all around you.”

This was the introduction that kicked off the first-ever Top Ladies gala, hosted by the Yale Women’s Leadership Initiative in the Silliman dining hall on Saturday evening. The quick video at the beginning of the gala urged ladies to seem all around and draw inspiration from one particular another, because a lot of attendees could go on to turn out to be long term senators, Nobel prize winners or multimillionaire founders of new startups.

The occasion — which featured rousing speeches, a slam poetry overall performance, musical renditions from all-female a capella group Whim’n Rhythm and a keynote speech from entrepreneur Katie Rae SOM ’97 — aimed to market the appreciation of girls at Yale, recognizing female undergraduates for their leadership roles and encouraging more girls to turn into leaders in the Yale local community. Rae urged the audience to grow to be leaders by surrounding themselves with supporters, finding their voices and understanding how to perform well with other people. WLI Outreach Chair Jade Shao ’15, a co-organizer of the event, stated the preparing for the gala began at the start of the semester.

“We chose Katie Rae to speak due to the fact she embodies assistance,” said WLI Enterprise Chair Tina Yuan ’16, the other organizer of the event. “Often females try to destroy and assault every other so we can see ourselves as much better, but Katie exemplifies what it indicates to be a mentor. Like Katie, we all want to function at tearing down individuals institutional and even internal barriers and celebrate help for one particular another.”

Rae, the managing director of a tech startup accelerator in Boston and the founder of a firm that invests and assists in early startups, mentioned that 96 % of venture capitalists invest in male entrepreneurs and only four % select to invest in female entrepreneurs.

Rae extra that she tries to perform an lively role in shifting the gender imbalance in the startup planet, as she understands that the stereotypes for ladies have to be remedied at the ground degree.

“The awful truth that I have heard from powerful males about why they don’t see far more ladies in entrepreneurship is that they say ladies do not produce the huge ideas,” Rae explained. “The stark actuality is that you don’t see far more females in organization because they do not remain in the game, and even more startling is that girls of privilege keep in the game much less usually.”

Organizers of the gala explained events celebrating the position of females are crucial even at Yale, in purchase to remind ladies of how far they have come but also how considerably there is left to do.

The gala featured a range of undergraduate speakers from diverse backgrounds, who recounted their troubles in attaining good results in a male-oriented globe and gave tips on how to grow to be a leader. Nicole Hobbs ’14 spoke about her journey from becoming a shy, inadequate-feeling freshman to turning out to be the Yale Democrats President. Her favored bumper sticker, she explained, reads, “A women’s place is in the Home and the Senate.”

Clemantine Wamariya ’14, who lived in eight different African countries when she was a youngster as a refugee from Rwanda, spoke about the position models in her existence that gave her the strength to lead. She dared the female members of the audience to hold fighting forward, as ladies at Yale “have no excuse [and] have been privileged.” Wamariya extra that “the globe is crying” for sturdy ladies to implement alter.

Ifeanyi Awachie ’14 performed a slam poem that centered on the internal barriers ladies place in place for themselves. She identified her personal struggles with body picture and conformation to other people’s ideals of beauty — speaking to loud cheers and snaps from audience members.

All attendees interviewed said they felt the gala was a accomplishment.

“This was a marvelously organized occasion,” mentioned Yale School Dean Mary Miller. “It’s fun to be at an important event where guys are in the minority simply because we are all working for that minute when a vast majority of girls leaders feels normal.”

Ethan Kyzivat ’15 stated that he believes events this kind of as the gala are critical, even at a spot like Yale in which women are presently empowered. But some WLI members stated they still see imbalance in their lives at Yale.

WLI member Joyce Chen ’16 said that although it has turn out to be far more acceptable in society for girls to hold leadership positions, females still have issues getting their voices heard. Chen recalled a recent consulting conference hosted by WLI in which the bulk of attendees have been women, but all the concerns have been asked and answered by men.

The gala — which took location in a packed space with above a hundred attendees — was accompanied by refreshments and a jazz group.

Inaugural gala honors undergraduate women