How Identity Has Influenced an Assistant Director of Outreach and Recruitment's Career at a Private University Business School
Trisha's identity significantly impacted career choices, particularly after experiencing gender biases in the automotive industry, where experiences left the career professional feeling unsupported and undervalued, leading to a career change. This prompted a deliberate move to higher education, where the career professional now feels "so supported" and values the inclusive environment, emphasizing that "knowing that...voice is heard the exact same...feels so impactful and amazing."
Gender Bias, Inclusivity, Career Change, Supportive Workplace, Higher Education
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Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Trisha Wierl
Assistant Director of Outreach and Recruitment
Business School for a Private University
California State University - San Marcos
Biology & Related Sciences
Education
Communication and Marketing
Honors Student
Video Highlights
1. Experienced gender biases in the automotive consulting industry, including feeling put down and having her views invalidated, which led her to seek a more inclusive and supportive work environment.
2. Found a welcoming and inclusive environment in higher education at a private university, where she feels supported and her voice is equally heard among colleagues, regardless of gender.
3. The negative experiences in her previous role motivated her to seek a career change and find an industry that aligns with her values and allows her to perform her best work.
Transcript
Here's the cleaned transcript:
Q13: How identity impacted career
This is a bit of a two-parter. Honestly, as you can probably tell through this interview, I love my role. I have felt so supported.
I've never once felt discriminated against or experienced gender biases. It's so inclusive and welcoming, and maybe that's true for higher education in general, or maybe it's just specific to the university I'm at.
But I didn't always feel this way, especially in my last role in consulting at an automotive company. The automotive industry was not very fair and definitely had gender biases. It was hard to navigate and hard to advocate for myself. I felt put down a lot, like my ideas weren't valid.
This contributed to me not feeling welcomed and supported in that industry, and needing to find a change. It definitely impacted how I navigated my career. Feeling those biases was a quick realization that this was not okay.
I realized I couldn't do my best work in that environment, so it led me to seek change and find an industry that was a good fit. This brought me to higher education, which has reaffirmed day in and day out that this was the right call.
I feel so supported, not just in the day-to-day work, but knowing there are no gender biases. I can go to my female and male colleagues and know my voice is heard the same. It feels so impactful and amazing.
Having not had that experience initially, I don't think I would have been able to find that positive change and be so thrilled about what I'm doing now.
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