Ashley Sambrook says that women need to be offered support to gain the confidence to leadPhoto of Ashley Sambrook (by Sandrinette Maniania)

In May of 2015, Ashley Sambrook was sitting at Starbucks with her girlfriends, when the idea to start the Rowe school of Women in Business Association (WIBA) emerged. The goal was to confront the issue of Dalhousie University lacking a support group for women studying Business, which other universities had already implemented.

Sambrook represents the growing number of women majoring in Business, Management, and Public Administration at the University level. Data from Census Canada shows that in 2011 there were twice as many females as males studying business education in Halifax.

This is a 2011 Census map showing the number of women studying business education in Nova Scotia

The number of women pursuing careers in business has increased over the years, as has the number of women assuming senior positions in the global community.

In an era where Hilary Clinton is running for president of the United States of America, and the COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, is a woman, there seems to be less limitations as to what is achievable in terms of success.

At only 21 years of age, Ashley Sambrook holds the position of president of the Commerce society at Dalhousie University. She will be going into her last year of Commerce in the fall, and plans on making a difference before she graduates.

Photo by Sandrinette Maniania

Sambrook says, “I think you need to have enough female players and enough advocates and then you’re gonna see that, change will happen.”

She believes that ever so often females are underestimated, but if given the self-assurance and a safe haven they can impact society.

Mary Kilfoil, professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and founder of the lean initiative at Dalhousie, says she’s noticed a change in the number of female entrepreneurs over the years. The field was once dominated by men, but with the growth in women entrepreneurs acting as role models and mentors, females are becoming more and more comfortable taking on executive positions.

Kilfoil explains that a few years back, she conducted a study in the Atlantic part of Canada that verified that women entrepreneurs in the advanced technology sector were less likely to have mentors, and also faced challenges networking in comparison to their male counterparts.  As a result, these factors impeded women’s’ ability to prosper within the business setting.

Kilfoil doesn’t find it surprising that the women are doubling in numbers in Halifax, as she sees that there are more females in leadership roles helping support and advise women in business.

Sambrook says that being mentored has aided her in advancing and improving her ways of networking, which she believes is vital to growth within any organization.  She states that having the right adviser can help a woman realize her potential.  More importantly, she looks to her mother as a source of inspiration as she has watched her working sweat for years, and admires her passion and perseverance as a woman.

Kilfoil emphasizes the importance of having women figures leading within communities.  She still feels that it is harder for women to network as there is still that ‘innuendo’ when a woman calls up a man to suggest meeting up for a coffee to talk business.  She says “believe it or not, there’s still that stigma.”

Director of corporate Residency for the MBA Program at Dalhousie, Dan Shaw claims that in his 12 years of experience, the top students in his class have mostly been women.  He says, “boys take longer to actualize their potential, women are more organized in their study habits, and usually have better outcomes.”

Shawn says that he sees more women studying business at the undergraduate level.  He says that research analysis demonstrates that the number of women determine the Return of Investment (ROI) of a company.  In his observation, organizations with women working at senior positions are doing well.  He says, “it always works when an environment is more collaborative and transparent.”

The Centre for Women’s Business Research conducted a study in 2009, on the economic impact of Women- owned businesses in the United States, and concluded that more jobs were being created to sustain development.

Sambrook looks forward to a future where females can continue to empower one another, in the hopes that men can also be included as part of the conversation.