Jaewon Jang told students Wednesday night that he thinks women who are assertive are seen as "bitchy."
The UF finance senior also said men who are assertive are seen as getting things done, and he doesn’t think that’s fair.
Along with seven other panelists, Jang shared his views on gender’s role in leadership at the "Gender Across Leadership" panel, hosted by UF’s Savant Leadership Honorary. The panel members explained their opinions to an audience of about 50. The panelists, who were all UF students, started by discussing traditional gender roles. They said men usually hold leadership positions because men are thought to command attention while women are thought to merely observe.
Jang said women currently make up only 4.4 percent of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
"That number speaks volumes," the 21-year-old said.
Panelist Maria Pitt, a 21-year-old UF graphic design senior, said students should know leadership isn’t just influenced by gender. It is also affected by religion and race.
Panelist and Access Party President Kalyani Hawaldar, a UF biology and sociology senior, said while UF may seem like it’s progressive in terms of gender, it might only be on the surface.
"We would be doing ourselves a disservice by saying we don’t have issues about gender and equality at the university," the 21-year-old said.
Hawaldar said the panel should have also included transgender students.
"I think that we need people who identify (as trans) to be on this panel," she said. "For us to be speaking on this issue is doing a disservice."
Ruth St. Fort, a UF microbiology senior, attended the panel and said its focus on the impact of gender was refreshing. She said she feels like she’s had to work harder in leadership roles because she’s a woman.
"I feel like I do have to prove myself," the 21-year-old said.
Contact Caitlin Ostroff at costroff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @ceostroff
