AD+PR Professor Connects Students with Female Leaders
MSU advertising professor of practice, Julie Beaty, created a program to empower future female leaders
By: Maeva Mariano
Julie Beaty not only teaches as a professor of practice but has also led the Advertising in Europe education away program. Using her 30 years of experience in advertising, she created MSU’s Women in Advertising & Communications Mentoring Program (WAC):
It all started one fateful evening during her time working in industry, Beaty found herself alone to represent the company when her male coworkers left for a dinner organized by their boss – a dinner in which only men were invited. Later that night, she decided to turn her anger into something positive.
“That was the moment that I decided to start a women’s mentorship program for women entering our field,” said Beaty, “I wanted the women coming up to have other women mentors that they could call in that type of situation.”
Despite the progress made in gender equality, she explains that “he-peating” and worse is an unfortunate reality.
“There is this joke among women who are C-level that you state an idea in a meeting and five minutes later, your male coworker states the exact same idea, but that time it’s heard,” said Beaty.
But as gender inequality is no laughing matter, programs like MSU’s WAC give a chance for students to meet women who are running divisions within major global companies. For instance, Beaty brought the head of the Amazon office in Detroit, to talk about the diverse jobs available to advertising graduates at Amazon. Additionally, WAC provides students with mentorship and activities, such as resume workshops and interviews made to help student handle challenges like raise negotiations. Moreover, WAC has partnerships with organizations like She Runs It, which hosts virtual events to share industry insights.
Furthermore, WAC’s impact extends beyond MSU with students from the program becoming mentors themselves. By working together, WAC not only connects the students to female leaders but also helps them land jobs and internships according to Beaty.
“It shows how the women in our industry are passionate about the industry and passionate about helping other women,” said Beaty.
Beaty advises her students – all genders included – to stay themselves, embrace their passion and to take fun classes to expand their knowledge. In addition, she encourages female students to take advantage of all the opportunities WAC has to offer.
“Join WAC – that network, it will relieve a lot of that anxiety and stress,” said Beaty. “And know that you are entering an industry that really does have a heart.”
To learn more about WAC and how to join, visit:
https://comartsci.msu.edu/women-advertising-communications